Eye of the Storm: Battling Forces of Nature and Ideology, Merrill, Pastor & Colgan Rethink Our Best-Loved Houses‪.‬

Scott Merrill, AIA, knows something about storms. Last year his adopted hometown and workplace. Veto Beach. Fla., weathered four--two of them major hurricanes spaced just three weeks apart. The one-two punch of Frances, and Jeanne took out the headquarters of Merill, Pastor & Colgan Architects. Until just recently most of the 13-person firm was huddled together in temporary digs above the Pak Mail store, conveniently located along the evacuation route out of town. Toiling in hurricane alley while building out the New Urbanist communities of Seaside and now Windsor in Vero Beach. Fla. has cemented Merrill's practical side. His first design objective is to protect the occupants of his house and secure their investment in them. If, after that's achieved, there's budget left for invention, well, he says. he'll weigh the costs and risk, of such indulgence. There are functional reasons for some of the familiar forms that resonate powerfully with the buying public, and to abandon tried-and-true performance for the follies of form is, in his opinion, irresponsible.