Rita Catinella Orrell
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Design Journalist | Children’s Book Writer | 🏹 Coach
“If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.” 🏳️🌈
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Articles by Rita Catinella Orrell
Versatile vintage: Surface and Shape opens in Barryville
Posted Wednesday, August 26, 2026 10:03 am Located in a former record shop across from the Barryville Farmers’ Market, Surface & Shape offers a collection of vintage items—from wire egg baskets to large statement pieces—curated by Feng Shui practitioner and interior designer Julia Sarasola. The River Reporter recently sat down with Julia in her new space to chat about design, the value of editing the objects in your home and what drew her to open her shop in Barryville.
A Community Runs Through It: Riverfest 2026
Posted 7/31/26 A dog parade, live performances, local handcrafted goods, and great weather drew approximately 3,000 visitors to the 36th annual Riverfest last Sunday. Held along Main Street in Narrowsburg, the … This item is available in full to subscribers. E-mail Password Print and web subscribers If you're a print and web subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Non-subscribers Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Exterior Lighting is a Design Decision, Not an Add-On
Whether exterior lighting is requested for night swimming, dining al fresco, or to highlight architectural details, trees, or a pathway, homeowners are beginning to expect the same level of control, flexibility, and ease of use from their outdoor systems as they have inside the home. Meeting that expectation now comes with constraints that didn't apply a decade ago.
Mission Critical
Designing data centers for a resource-constrained future For all the noise surrounding data centers, there is, ironically, very little data—or reasoned discussion—on the subject. Data centers fit the bill of most industrial architecture: resource-heavy, sparsely inhabited, and prone to sustainability concerns, including various kinds of pollution, especially noise and light pollution.
Return to the Elements
A luxury resort is made smaller and greener. Aerial view of the existing structure. Area in orange was removed and converted to outdoor space. IMAGE COURTESY LAKE FLATO ARCHITECTS Before becoming the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, this property on the northern coast of the island of Kaua‘i lived several different lives.
Paradise Built - Texas Architect Magazine
A room for every season The pool pavilion is designed to remain nearly invisible when approached from the main house. PHOTO BY CASEY DUNN During a blistering Texas summer, the longest distance between two points is the stretch lacking the forgiveness of shade. For the residents of Austin’s well-known Floating Box House, an absence of shade prevented them from enjoying their spacious backyard and pool during the city’s many hot months.
Running Dry - Texas Architect Magazine
Corpus Christi’s water crisis reveals the challenges of planning for growth. In the summer and fall of 2025, I spent nearly every weekend standing in line at 6 a.m. with dozens of other residents, each with a truck, trailer, and water tank, waiting at a local wastewater treatment plant. We were there to receive effluent water in hopes of keeping the landscaping around our homes alive after the city enacted drastic water-conservation measures in fall 2024 that prohibited irrigation.
Cultural Anchor - Texas Architect Magazine
A center for the arts sustains Rockport’s creative community. Rockport, Texas, does not announce itself as an arts destination; it reveals it slowly. Along with its marinas, bait shops, and modest storefronts, this Gulf Coast town carries an unassuming but deeply rooted creative culture. Artists create at an easy pace. Galleries emerge from everyday buildings. Creativity exists as part of the rhythm of daily life.
Q&A with David Sellers, AIA
David Sellers, AIA, is the co-founder of Hawaii Off Grid Architecture & Engineering (HIOG) and a leading advocate for sustainable and resilient design in Hawaii. His path to architecture began aboard commercial fishing boats in Alaska, where he worked as a ship’s engineer to finance his studies at Texas A&M University, gaining hands-on expertise in energy, water, and mechanical systems that continues to inform his work today.
Thick Built - Texas Architect Magazine
The Why and How of a Rammed Earth Enclosure PHOTO COURTESY LAUREN STANLEY, AIA Architectural design often reflects trending concerns for human health and restoration. It frequently manifests in biophilic terms, incorporating natural materials (bio- and geo-based) as key components in making space feel like refuge. Home is the embodiment of sanctuary: safe, peaceful, holistic, and conducive to a good night’s sleep.
Coastal Futures - Texas Architect Magazine
Urban Shores: Towards Landscape-Based Coastal Adaptation Anna Aslaug Lund, Ole Fryd & Gertrud Jørgensen Danish Architectural Press 2025 “Globally, close to one billion people currently live in the low-elevation coastal zone,” write the authors of Urban Shores: Towards Landscape-Based Coastal Adaptation. This spells trouble for those one billion people as flooding, erosion, and sea level rise will transform, and potentially submerge, the cities they call home.
Flow State - Texas Architect Magazine
Ottine Mineral Springs is marking its first anniversary with new amenities and expansion plans that continue the transformation of the historic Central Texas property into a wellness destination. The 40-acre retreat, formerly known as Warm Springs, reopened in June 2025 following a revitalization effort that built on the site’s long history as a destination for therapeutic bathing.
Standing Up and Making a Statement With Chair Design
Period Piece by Peg Woodworking;Loud and Proud by Joey Zeledon x Martelle Esposito Take a stand, and make a difference. That’s the idea behind Don’t Sit on Me, the latest group exhibition at the Hudson Valley design store/gallery Available Items. Design industry veterans Kristin Coleman and Chad Phillips founded this business in 2022 as a place to champion contemporary design. And they’re not afraid of making a statement.
Lassos, fly tying and more at the Zane Grey Festival
Posted Friday, July 17, 2026 6:10 am Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Zane Grey Festival was held last Saturday on a sunny (but not too hot) day on the grounds of the Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen, PA, which is operated by the National Park Service. This annual family-friendly event celebrates the life and legacy of Western novelist Zane Grey with a full day of educational programs, live music, demonstrations, horse-drawn wagon rides, and hands on activities.
Coil + Drift Celebrates a Decade of Dancing with Light
Skip to content Some people just have creativity in their bones. John Sorensen-Jolink is one of them. A decade ago, the formally trained contemporary dancer and choreographer switched gears to pursue his lifelong love of design. For his second act, John turned to lighting- and furniture-making and launched Coil + Drift in the Catskill Mountains of New York. From this 3,000-square-foot showroom, office, and production facility, John and his team design and manufacture all products.
Literary Giant Captivates at the Deep Water Literary Festival
NARROWSBURG — Joyce Carol Oates, a grande dame of contemporary American literature, transfixed a standing-room-only audience the moment she stepped onto the stage at this year’s Deep Water Literary Festival. On the final day of the festival, Oates sat down with writer and fellow Princeton University professor Amy M. Homes at Narrowsburg’s historic Tusten Theater to chat about her approach to writing through the decades and her latest short story collection, The Frenzy.
Dinner with a side of history
To say The Old Foundation, a restaurant in Kenoza Lake, NY, has an old-school vibe would be putting it lightly. Opened four years ago by husband-and-wife team Ian and Jessica Boyle, the building has been a roadside tavern since its construction in the 1860s—predating its historic neighbor, the Stone Arch Bridge.
A Taste of Italy in Narrowsburg
Posted 3/20/26 N onna’s Pantry, a new light-filled shop at 25 Main Street in Narrowsburg, is now open to shoppers looking to stock up on gourmet Italian pantry items, tableware, and other kitchen accessories and … This item is available in full to subscribers. E-mail Password Print and web subscribers If you're a print and web subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Non-subscribers Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Toward a Landscape of Presence
Feature Volume 75, Issue 5 - Sanctuary Exploring new possibilities for green burial Although I am a landscape designer by day, I spend my Fridays bearing witness as people navigate the threshold between life and death. I am a death doula. My days at ABODE Contemplative Care for the Dying are spent with people who are dying and their loved ones.
Kerchunk!: Reflections on For an Architecture of Reality
Of Note Volume 75, Issue 5 - Sanctuary “There are valued times in almost everyone’s experience when the world is perceived afresh.” This is the opening statement from the magical 1987 book For an Architecture of Reality written by Michael Benedikt. Many years ago, I stumbled upon this intriguing little book in San Francisco, in a bookstore devoted to architecture. Somehow, amongst the plethora of larger, alluring books for sale this lightweight gem caught my attention.
Narrowsburg Union Holiday Market helps kick off the holiday season
Posted 12/12/25 A s part of a full day of shopping, festivities, and community spirit, holiday shoppers perused handcrafted gifts from 20 local vendors at the Narrowsburg Union’s Holiday Market on Saturday, … This item is available in full to subscribers. E-mail Password Print and web subscribers If you're a print and web subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Non-subscribers Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
A Pine Plains Modern Farmhouse Celebrates its Roots | Upstate House
On a fall morning in Pine Plains, the fields glow gold and the lone grain silo holds its ground like a sentinel from another century. Deer slip between the hedgerows; a blue heron lifts off the wetlands. What looks at first like a classic farmhouse—white clapboard, pitched roof, wraparound porch—reveals itself slowly, like the landscape it inhabits. This is a new house on old farmland, designed by Ravi Raj Architect for a family of five and their two rescue dogs.
Underappreciated artist gets the spotlight in local exhibition
Nineteenth-century artist Fanny Palmer was an overlooked pioneer of American lithography who created hundreds of prints for the legendary Victorian printmakers Currier and Ives, capturing scenes of everyday life and rural landscapes.
21st annual Art in Sixes exhibition celebrates local talent
Posted 11/18/25 The art might have been small, but the talent was massive at the 21st Annual Art in Sixes exhibition opening party held on Saturday, November 15 at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA). Over 700 … This item is available in full to subscribers. E-mail Password Print and web subscribers If you're a print and web subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Non-subscribers Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Dining like a Native - The River Reporter
Alex and Caleb Johnson always knew they wanted to open up a restaurant of their own. The couple, who first met working together at restaurants in Philadelphia, made that dream a reality with Native, the farm-to-table restaurant they’ve run in Honesdale since 2019. Prior to opening Native, Caleb worked for two years as a chef at The Launderette in Narrowsburg, NY. There he was introduced to local farmers and suppliers, some of whom he still works with today.
Tasting the best in the Catskills
On the evening of Saturday, October 4, the TASTE: Sullivan Catskills Food and Wine festival presented its “Best of Catskills Tasting Experience”, a highlight of the four-day food and wine festival that took place from October 2-5. A showcase of some of the region’s best cuisine, the event was sponsored and curated by the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association in collaboration with their partners a21, Resorts World Catskills, Bethel Woods and Foster Supply Hospitality.
Narrowsburg’s Logging Days returns
On Saturday, October 4, the Narrowsburg Chamber of Commerce once again sponsored Logging Days: Celebrating our Heritage, a free, family-friendly event featuring the New York State Lumberjack Association Lumberjack Contest. Held on a warm, sunny day at Fireman’s Field along the Delaware riverfront, the event celebrated Narrowsburg’s historic role as a thriving logging town.
Local Cuisine on the Menu at TASTE: Sullivan Food & Wine
Posted 9/30/25 Several local chefs will showcase their talents at the TASTE: Sullivan Food & Wine festival taking place from October 2-5 throughout the county. Sponsored by the Sullivan Catskills Visitors … This item is available in full to subscribers. E-mail Password Print and web subscribers If you're a print and web subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Non-subscribers Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
New diner opens in Jeffersonville
A new diner drew a lively crowd to its grand opening celebration on Friday, September 5. Located at 4893 NY-52, Jeff’s Diner has taken over the space on Main Street formerly occupied by the Toast wine bar and brunch restaurant. The diner is the first restaurant from husband-and-wife owners Melissa and Jesus Castillo. “Jeffersonville captured our hearts right away with its warm community, charming atmosphere, and growing popularity in the Catskills,” says Melissa.
The Atmosphere of Place
Feature Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Why we love the places we love When I moved to Austin in my early 20s, I learned to recognize the work of architects by what stuck out in the built environment. After living in far West Texas for the better part of two decades, however, my perspective shifted. I began to gravitate toward architecture that best fits in with its surroundings, that captures the spirit of a place in its history, culture, and atmosphere.
Fine Vintage - Texas Architect Magazine
Standing just one foot shy of qualifying as a high-rise, the Varisco Building is the tallest structure in downtown Bryan. Originally constructed in 1948, this historic building has recently undergone a thoughtful architectural transformation. From the outside, the changes are subtle. Apart from the new vertical sign reading “Distillery,” little hints at the dramatic reinvention within. The architects deliberately preserved the entrance in its original state.
A Study in Steel
Feature Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Restoring a Midcentury Townhouse As streets go, Meyerwood Drive is quintessential Houston quirk: a curious scrap of walkable urbanism stranded between the 16 lanes of Loop 610, the concrete-bottomed Brays Bayou, a railroad track, and the city’s ubiquitous ranch house suburbia. It is a short road, dipper-shaped in plan, and mostly lined with modest townhomes faced in overly eclectic brick.
Civic Sensibility
Feature Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Why Every City Needs an Architect Words by Jessie Temple, AIA and Riley Triggs, AIA At Val’s Italian Restaurant in downtown Canton, a group of residents gathered to provide feedback about the challenges facing their community’s built environment. Canton, a small East Texas town located about an hour from Dallas, features a charming historic center with a county courthouse, shops, and restaurants.
Wood-n’t You Know?
Feature Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Lessons in Mass Timber The Greenhill School campus in the Dallas suburb of Addison has a long association with architectural excellence. Spaces that could shape a learning experience by sparking awareness of place were a founding value for the campus with their selection of the late O’Neil Ford, FAIA, to design the initial buildings.
Living Laboratory
Feature Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Learning from Biogenic Materials Greg Esparza, co-founder of Austin-based Moontower Design & Build, frequently asks himself what architectural language emerges when biogenic materials are prioritized. After years of exploring this question, he built a cabin with a focus on healthy materials above all else. The project remains part of Esparza’s ongoing experimentation, providing a continuous feedback loop between daily life, materiality, and design.
A Doodle Diary - Texas Architect Magazine
Backpage Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback “Doodling is more than idle scribbles—it’s a universal form of creative expression and a window into the mind,” said Architecture Center Houston on their website for A Doodle Diary. On view February 13 through April 25, this exhibition showcased the whimsical doodles of architect and business owner John Kirksey, FAIA, drawn over the course of his 50-plus-year career in architecture.
Back to the Future
Feature Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback The Allen Teleport 50 Years Later The future turned out morebanal than promised. Epoch-defining advancements in telecommunications and computer processing, staggering investments in physical and digital infrastructure, and untold billions of hours of human labor have culminated in yet another tedious Zoom conference call made from the kitchen table.
Concrete Terms - Texas Architect Magazine
Film Review Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback The Brutalist Directed by Brady Corbet Written by Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold Brookstreet Pictures and Kaplan Morrison, 2024 This article contains discussions and themes that may be distressing or disturbing to some readers, including references to violence. Reader discretion is advised. It’s a mistake, though an understandable one, to watch The Brutalist expecting to see a film about Brutalist architecture.
Highway Hypnosis
Book Review Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways Megan Kimble Crown Publishing Group, 2024 “The sun will go out in five billion years, and they’ll have to finish I-35 in the dark!” Although this joke is decades old, told again and again by weary and cynical Texas drivers, the sentiment still rings true today.
Pipe Dreams - Texas Architect Magazine
Book Review Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Atlas of Never Built Architecture Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin Phaidon, 2024 Sometimes architects’ grand ambitions fallflat, and the public may be better for it. In other cases, what may have benefitted the public and the team of architects, engineers, and the other laborers involved is killed for reasons out of their control, namely financial, political, and ideological considerations.
Local Policymaking for Architects
Toolkit Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback THE ROLE OF ARCHITECTS IN POLICYMAKING As leading experts in the built environment, architects are uniquely positioned to serve as catalysts for transformative change, enhancing life safety and protecting public health and well-being through thoughtful, innovative design and planning. However, one of the most powerful tools for driving meaningful change is often overlooked as an area of influence for architects—effective policymaking.
Bhutanese Heritage in the Chihuahuan Desert: Uncertainty Surrounds UTEP Master Plan
Of Note Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Create state-of-the-artfacilities or honor cultural heritage? This question is at the heart of a debate over the 10-year campus master plan for the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) presented by its president, Heather Wilson, to the UT System Board of Regents in August last year.
Design Austin Launches WaterWork
Of Note Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback On September 12 and 17, 2024, Design Austin and the Trail Conservancy hosted WaterWork, a first-of-its-kind large-scale projection installation at the historic Seaholm Intake Facility. Now slated to be an annual event, the collaboration spotlighted the work of 15 artists and designers who were asked to create brief videos to transform the iconic building along Lady Bird Lake into a dynamic canvas.
Innovation, Imagination, and Urban Futures at SXSW
Of Note Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback This year’s SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin continued to cement its place as a global nexus for innovation, creative technology, and future-focused discourse. From climate resilience to speculative design, the event brought together designers, technologists, policymakers, and storytellers to imagine what’s next for our collective future.
A Remembrance of Mary Carolyn Hollers George, 1930–2024 - Texas Architect Magazine
Of Note Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback Research for a book on the Mediterranean house drew me to Texas, and to the work of O’Neil Ford, FAIA, among others. It became immediately apparent that an indispensable source on O’Neil Ford’s architecture was Mary Carolyn George’s definitive monograph O’Neil Ford, Architect. After I read her text, her unique perspective on Ford piqued my interest in Texas houses.
HLB TO ADAPT INCINERATOR SITE
Of Note Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback In Houston’s Second Ward, a former incinerator site south of Buffalo Bayou operated from the 1920s to 1960s to burn off the City of Houston’s municipal waste, leaving environmental toxins in its wake. Heavy metals, dioxins, lead, arsenic, and volatile organic compounds are all part of the site’s present-day soil composition.
“TEXTURA”: DESCON IN MEXICO CITY
Of Note Volume 75, Issue 2 - Feedback The hardest ticket to acquirein Texas architecture this past year was for the TxA Design Conference in Mexico City, which sold out within minutes. The conference theme, “Textura,” was aptly chosen, as textures of every kind greeted participants along the way. Day One Architecture of Care The conference began with a lecture by Alba Cortés and Mariano Castilla of Tatiana Bilbao Estudio followed by a tour of their workspace.
Specialty glass products that offer clarity, efficiency, and design flexibility
When something special is needed for a project, these products do the job—from bird-safe channel glass to highly efficient smart glass. Addressing the shortcomings of traditional smart glass technologies, Skyline Design introduces SDX3 SmartView powered by CLiC, a film-free design utilizing liquid crystal technology to set a new standard for clarity, efficiency, and design flexibility for commercial spaces.
Texture and pattern distinguish these decorative glass products
To add the right creative touch, check out the latest direct-to-glass printing services, mirror glass designs, and glass textures and patterns. Designed to be printed on glass, the new patterns by Lidia Covello for OmniDecor’s Pure Lines collection features understated designs distinguished by slim, square, and rectangular lines.
High-performance glass and film to protect against sun, wind, and fire
These high-performing glass and film options provide an array of useful innovations for designers, from solar control and fire-resistance to high visible light transmittance and superior thermal performance. By combining Contraflam One interlayer glass technology with Aluflam True Aluminum Framing, architects can now design much larger openings. This glass contains 35 percent less embedded carbon content than previous generations of Contraflam according to Vetrotech.
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