DESTIJL INTERNATIONAL, INC.
ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS

Destijl International, Inc. Architects and Planners is a design-oriented firm, which is involved in many aspects of the construction industry. Michael Lee Adams established his architectural practice in Gainesville, Florida in 1965 and has had branch offices in Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Florida. Rey Ortega joined Mr. Adams' firm in 1977 while attending the University of Florida as a part-time architectural designer. Michael Lee Adams and Associates relocated to Clearwater, Florida in 1979.

Destijl International, Inc. is an extension of the collaboration between Michael Lee Adams and Rey Ortega. Together they have been involved in the design and construction of projects exceeding $300 million in value. Projects ranged from historical renovations to the master planning of entire communities and have encompassed various residential, commercial and institutional uses.

Mr. Adams entered into the development business in 1969 as an adjunct to his architectural firm. His development activities have included the full range of feasibility analysis, planning, site acquisition, architectural design and engineering, financing, construction and management of completed projects. Projects have included numerous apartment and condominium complexes, office parks, shopping centers and planned unit developments.

Mr. Ortega is the principal designer in the firm and has been responsible for the design of most of the firm's projects. He has an extensive background in art, architectural history and urban planning .Both Mr. Adams and Mr. Ortega are graduates of the University of Florida, College of Architecture.

"Destijl" is the Dutch word for the "The Style". Coined as the name for a group of visual philosophers of the 1920's, this group of artists, sculptors and architects set a major precedent for any contemporary art object seeking to extend itself toward environmental or architectural design. Architecture in particular was responding to the "machine age" by replacing art and ornament with pure, geometric and economical construction based on mass production. The Destijl movement was based on the theory that "cultural style" is derived where the lines of artistic and technological development meet. At a time when architects were rejecting color and ornament and pushing industrialization and simplification, this group of artists/architects said, great, let's simplify, use technology, mass production, etc., but maintain artistic expression. To create "Style" you have to design towards both the ideal (art) and the practical (technology).

Destijl International, Inc. strives to provide creative yet practical solutions to the complex art of construction. Please find enclosed a sample list of projects completed by Mr. Adams and Mr. Ortega. 

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