This one-story house is raised high above the existing grade. The lower floor areas restricted by FEMA regulations to only garage, storage, and covered outdoor areas.
This home has been designed in its entirety, i.e. not in two dimensions or as four flat elevations of a box, but as a series of three easily identifiable volumes, which define its functions, mass, and scale. The simplicity of these three volumes dramatically minimizes a complex formal and spatial interplay within, where the house maximizes its use of the available site in every dimension, both internally and externally.
Breaking down the house into smaller different volumes with a variety of roofs and decks of varying sizes and heights, combined with deep overhangs reduces the mass and eliminates expanses of tall blank walls.
The use of decks, combined with balconies and railings, adds variation, eliminates repetitiveness, and further serves to reduce the mass of each component of the house. Inevitably, the beach side of the house is completely glazed with tall sliding doors to maximize the breeze and views, giving a strong sense of openness to the Gulf. Large glass openings, varied roof heights, deep overhangs, and decks all respond to the climate but the home is clearly designed for the 21st Century.
The mature vegetation provides a natural barrier, surrounding the new house and ensuring its seclusion from neighbors, cars, and dog-walkers. It also keeps the house hidden from beachcombers and watercraft, maintaining privacy from the beach.
