6 June 2014
Ron Shaw originally came to the Turks and Caicos for a sabbatical year, persuaded by a developer friend who was looking for an architect. Eighteen years later he is still in Providenciales, where his architectural designs have given a distinctive look to the islands and he has indulged his passion for creating homes.
With a strong background in commercial and industrial architecture, he spent some time teaching in adult education before accepting the opportunity to come to the Turks and Caicos Islands. His first love has always been residential work, which he indulged by working on clients’ private homes in his native Ontario. But once in Turks, he has been able to focus on that aspect of architecture completely. Already familiar with the area through vacations, he brought with him a vision for stylish living in the tropics.
‘My passion has always been in residential’ he says ‘I like to deal on projects on a personal level. But the market is small, and very competitive. In North America there tends to be a cookie-cutter attitude to residential building- just banging them out. Custom-designed homes are not so common, but in Provo (as it is fondly known) Ron Shaw and his company, RAShaw Designs have managed to make dreams come true with some breathtaking constructions, not least Emerald Cay, his signature project which took 7 years to complete. Exclusively designed and built by Ron Shaw, this distinctive island mansion is a masterpiece and considered to be one of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced residences throughout the entire Caribbean.
His approach is very much hands-on. ‘I’m a firm believer in design build construction’ he says’ and ‘working closely with the builder.’ He does all the conceptual work himself and works with a five-strong draughtsman team to achieve what customers require.
The market here is very specific’ he explains ‘It is for high end custom built residential. This involves getting to know the client before creating a building which goes way beyond their expectations’.
He points out that many clients bring their design ideas from the USA or Europe, which he describes as ‘cold climate’ and don’t always fit in to their new tropical home.
‘Provo is ideal, a moderate temperature of 70-90 and a nice 10 knot wind. There is clean air, and sunshine 365 days a year, but no major bug issues!’ says Ron
Because of this, Ron Shaw focusses very much on ‘outdoor living, and marrying the indoors and the outdoor designs of a property.
'I look at the topography, the vista (very important, here there are turquoise waters everywhere) and the wind direction – we don’t need AC, there are fantastic sea breezes’.
Naturally in such a paradisiacal environment, everyone is very keen to preserve the natural beauty of the islands which Ron Shaw and his company respect in all aspects of their work. ‘We still only build one residence per acre here, ‘he explains’ And there are height restrictions. Environmentally two things are required; everyone must handle their own sceptic waste and water catchment must be self-suficient’
Of course, over 18 years changes have swept through the Caribbean region and architecture and design have adapted to tends and technology. The islands themselves have also developed and are no longer the ‘quaint Caribbean islands’ they once were although Ron Shaw believes there are still pockets of undeveloped land in the Turks and Caicos, which are perfect for high end custom homes' The islands are a safehaven for mega yachts’ he says ‘away from the threat of hurricanes, and it is possible for each yacht owner to have a villa in the same area, with each house unique’
One of his most challenging projects was the design of Mandalay for which, he says ‘I was provided very little direction, just the very basic requirements. I had so little to go on that I used some very unusual ideas, and came up with a modern, eclectic design with some awesome features.' The response? ‘My client Larry is very traditional’ says Ron ‘when he saw the free-hand sketches I had done for the property he just looked at me and sais" Thiis is so not me, but I love it”.
