The Palm Beach Zoo held it’s annual dinner dance last week in the Grand Ballroom of  ‘Mar a Lago,’ the former estate of Post Toasties heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, now a private club owned by Donald Trump. The evening raised $500,000 to benefit the zoo.

The evening was chaired by Lois Pope and Mary Montgomery and co-chaired by Frances Hayward (in a leopard print dress by Arnold Scaasi), Millie Dayton and Mary Baker, whose husband Kane Baker is Chairman of the Palm Beach Zoo Board of Directors. Renee Wood,Palm Beach event planner staged the event.

There were cocktails served around the swimming pool, where guests were allowed to ‘mingle’ with some special guests – residents of the zoo – including a baby alligator, a three toed sloth, rare species of owls, and a pair of ‘big cats’ who bore a striking resemblance to Ms. Hayward’s dress.

The ‘Carousel’ theme of the ball, an homage to the thousands of children who visit the zoo each year, was carried into the Ballroom, spectacularly designed by Bruce Sutka, where every table had as it’s centerpiece a beautiful miniature carousel animal. Everyone dined on filet mignon, danced to the music of Bob Hardwick and were treated to a live auction under the experienced gavel of Sotheby’s Hugh Hilldesly. Among the wonderful donated items was a fifteen-foot porcelain tiger designed by Lynn Chase.

Donald Trump was in attendance along with Frannie Scaife and Tom McCarter, Jorie Butler Kent and Howard Hardesty, Joyce and Bob Sterling, Hon. Leslie Smith and Dr.James Walsh, Pauline Pitt and Felix Mirando, Pepeand Lourdes Fanjul, Tina Fanjul with son-in law Sir ChristopherandLady Lewington, Leo Albert who escorted Mrs. Pope, Timothy and June Rooney, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Ecclestone, Mr. and Mrs. George Lindemann.

Ismael Leyva Architects, PC celebrated its 10th Anniversary this past December.  The firm, established in 1996 and led by Ismael Leyva, AIA, has proven to be one of New York’s most well respected architectural firms.

Ismael Leyva’s trademark designs include the Residences at Time Warner Center along with Place 57 the new condominium tower at 207 East 57th Street, 60 Spring Street, 15 Broad Street, The Beacon, 50 Gramercy Park North, the River Lofts Condominium and Oro 306 on Gold Street in Brooklyn. They have universally been noted to create a cohesive interior-exterior, providing maximum spatial layouts while often capturing great views and vistas from each residence.  Leyva’s design for the new residential building at 85 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Brooklyn has been widely acclaimed.

Leyva’s is an architect’s success story. In the past decade, his firm has grown from a small rented corner office to an organization with more than 100 professionals, a team of talented professionals, designing a range of developments along with new design concepts to the development of Moynihan Station in Midtown Manhattan.

The firm has also expanded internationally. They are designing several new projects, including two high rise residential towers of 17 and 21 stories in San Jose, Costa Rica; a hotel/condominium on the beach in Jaco, Costa Rica; a condominium/hotel in Kerry, Ireland; two condominiums consisting of 20 and 52 stories in Panama City; and a 12,000 square foot residential project in San Miguel, Mexico.

Mr. Leyva’s first notions to become an architect came as a child when he realized he could earn a living from his love for painting, drawing and sculpting.  He earned his BA in architecture from the University of Veracruz and landed his first job designing a luxury resort in Acapulco, Mexico in 1975.  In his early professional years, he aspired to be in Manhattan, which he always believed to be the ideal place to work as an architect.

When he moved to the United States, his first job as an architect was in Hoboken, New Jersey.  He quickly learned the harsh reality that his Mexican architecture license wasn’t accepted in the United States.  He had to start from scratch, going back to being a draftsman and working three more years to take a new licensing test.

His early career began at Philip Birnbaum and Associates. After working with Birnbaum for 15 years, he decided to go on his own. In 1996 he formed Ismael Leyva Architects, PC, based in Manhattan.

Since 1996, in addition to the projects where Leyva is the sole architect, he has also worked in association with such luminaries as Charles Gwathmey, Frank Gehry, Philip Starck, David M. Childs, David Rockwell and Robert A.M. Stern on several projects. By collaborating with renowned New York based architects whose collective designs have transformed city skylines throughout the world, Leyva has already left his mark, a marriage of modern functionalism and award winning design on such buildings as The Windsor at Forest Hills, The Park Imperial, The Chatham, River Lofts Condominium Complex, One Carnegie Hill and Astor Place.  The New York Times cited his designs as evoking the classic architecture of the famed architect Rosario Candela.

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