The setting for this Miami house is on a pie shaped lot on the southern tip of Dilido Island with superb views of the islands, downtown and South Beach. The house spills out onto the longer, waterfront elevation and draws on the jet-set lifestyle of Biscayne Bay, to evoke the experience of being on the deck of a super yacht. Multiple events unfold on this versatile terrace whose defining characteristic – the harmonious merging of internal and external living spaces – is a theme carried throughout the house.
Entrance from the street is more restrained; a series of wall planes and volumes, held together by a curved screen of etched glass and the pre-oxidised copper roof signal a grand, double-volume entrance hall. Inside, masses of programme pull apart to form a dramatic canyon whose volume frames the view out into the bay. This central void comprises a bold spiral staircase, and a series of ceiling-hung bronze screens – an architectural element that separates the ground floor open plan space into two wings: the western with a double height dining room, kitchen and family space and the eastern one with formal entertainment areas.
All the principal living spaces -from the more intimate areas housing a kitchen, butler kitchen and a large family den, to the more open and expansive Great Room and Study- live out onto a semi covered collection of external living rooms verged by the curved arc of the bay-side, with deckchairs for sunbathing, shallow-water “martini” seating, a fully functional bar area and even a pop-up outdoor table on the water edge between two mooring docks (meeting all flood line requirements). Water meanders throughout the house from the entrance pond to a calm refection pool around the study, unifying the island-like outdoor areas, whilst creating smaller islands of space and linking the inside to the pool and the sea.
The upper level houses the sea-facing master suite complete with hot tub and pool, and three on-the-water suites. The roof top terrace – accessed by elevator – has a second bar, a fire pit, and a hot tub with unobstructed views.
The materials – white stucco, warm grey limestone, copper and bronze detail elements – combine with lush planting, resulting in an atmosphere of understated luxury and serenity.
SAOTA
KKAID (architect of record)