Behind Best House Ideas

From an Idea, Through the Drawing, to the Building.

Arthur brings experience in custom home design and construction to Best House Ideas, with work in the Chicago area and Panama.

A broader building background

His work includes custom home design and construction in the Chicagoland area, masonry and stucco construction, and steel detailing and project management. That breadth of experience is the starting point for this site's focus on building superb houses in the tropics.

Projects in Panama

Arthur designed and built the multi-family house on Bastimentos Island and Santiago Mall in Santiago, Panama. The 240 m² house on a 2,000 m² finca in El Espino is almost completed. The site also follows plans for a second house at Los Planes, Chiriquí, Panama.

The Los Planes finca covers 1,500 m². That is the land area, not a stated house size, and the house remains a plan rather than a completed project.

Explore the project overview for the distinction between past work, current work and future plans.

Arthur also worked as project manager on the Colón cathedral project and a hotel restoration in Casco Viejo, Panama City.

Experience and research, kept clear

Project stories describe Arthur's work. General guides examine building decisions through cited research and questions for the appropriate local professionals. A research-based guide does not claim that a particular system was installed or tested on one of his projects.

Start with planning for shade and breezes, earthquake planning, or comparing building proposals. The guides page brings the reading together.

Best House Ideas provides general information and project stories, not site-specific engineering design or certification.

Contact

For website questions, article corrections and project-story enquiries, email info@besthouseideas.com. Visit the contact page for more information.