‘Change the pedestrian perception’

That’s the goal of neighborhood architect Eddie Maestri’s vision for the Lakewood Shopping Center.

Maestri lives in Lakewood Hills and is known around our neighborhood for designing new and remodeled homes that regularly wind up on the home tour circuits. Right after college, however, he cut his teeth with architecture firm RKTL, working with other architects and planners on projects such as The Domain in Austin. Its “park-like setting” mixes highend retail stores, restaurants, hotels, residences and even a “great lawn” with play areas and a regular entertainment schedule. It was designed for pedestrians.

Inspiration for The Domain came from Las Ramblas in Barcelona, a boulevard cutting through the city center where pedestrians don’t have to compete with cars. RTKL also pulled ideas from Lincoln Road in Miami, designed in the ’80s and also inspired by Las Ramblas.

What’s to stop Lakewood from having something like this, Maestri wonders?

“It’s all about connections, how you perceive the space,” Maestri says.