The house is sited on a gently curved lot on Sunset Island 2 that affords views of Biscayne Bay and the city beyond.
L-shaped plan orients views
Intersecting volumes establish a keyhole view toward the water and skyline. The home is stacked around an interior courtyard with a specimen oak tree.
Tweaking a horizontal typology
The house features a formalist frame - painted in a light blush pink - that catches the differing qualities of light in Miami. A tiled column adds a Memphis touch to the exterior. Overhanging canopies shade ribbon windows and frame views.
Layering
At night, the ground floor glows with its vibrant art pieces. The first floor, housing the more private spaces, appears opaque to the street and water.
Zaguan and interior courtyard
A procession from the street through an interior courtyard to the front door incorporates several large artworks embedded into the landscape.
Feature wall and commissioned pieces
The owner commissioned artists to design custom furniture, sculpture, and integrated pieces throughout the home. The architect devised a dividing wall that delineates the open floor plate and incorporates large scale pieces.
Feature wall and commissioned pieces
The owner commissioned artists to design custom furniture, sculpture, and integrated pieces throughout the home. The architect devised a dividing wall that delineates the open floor plate and incorporates large scale pieces.
Feature wall and commissioned pieces
The owner commissioned artists to design custom furniture, sculpture, and integrated pieces throughout the home. The architect devised a dividing wall that delineates the open floor plate and incorporates large scale pieces.
Connection to outdoors
The home opens on one side to the courtyard and on the other to the lawn and water beyond. Natural light floods the ground floor rooms during the day.
Tropical palette
A palette of candy-colored pastels complements the art without competing with it.
Central stair
A brilliant stair comprised of 37 variations of marble was designed for the home and represents a collaboration between the artist and architect.
Central stair
A brilliant stair comprised of 37 variations of marble was designed for the home and represents a collaboration between the artist and architect.
Corridors
On the first floor, housing the bedrooms and baths, corridors line glass walls and are used for feature art.
Formal volumes
The formalist volumes of the house are softened by the large mature trees on the site.
And with an artist’s eye, {the architect} designed the house so that the objects and views capture the imagination.
Yet at the same time, it’s a very academically correct, modernist-inspired home that stands out on its own as an amazing piece of architecture.”
The owner quoted in Christine Davis,
“Artful Fantasy: Museum Quality Pieces Plus Stunning Architecture And Design Fashion An Avid Art Collector’s Dream Home — A Playful Sunset Island Environment Awash In Vibrant Hues”, Florida Design, February 2019
Sunset Island House 2
Miami Beach, Florida | 2017
This house is the opposite of gestalt. An energetic combination of art encompassed in a modern box, it juxtaposes tropical architectural typology with a client’s extraordinary contemporary art collection and four primary school-aged kids.
The design of the house transposes the traditional elegance of a 1920’s/1930’s zaguan – a covered entry portal through a courtyard – onto a 7,800 square‐foot L‐shaped plan occupying a narrow Miami Beach lot. This spatial corridor penetrates an adjacent garden space, where a preserved oak tree provides generous shading, ultimately terminating at the front entrance. The formal elegance of the exterior juxtaposes with an interior vibrating with color and artworks both commissioned and chosen. A central feature of the interior is a spectacular central marble stair that connects the ground and second floors, a collaboration between architect and artist. At the rear, the interior master bedroom and study spaces cantilever over the ground floor terrace, shading the verdant area below. Panoramic, floor‐to‐ceiling windows protected by overhanging canopies frame views of the downtown Miami skyline.
Architect: Shulman + Associates
Interior design: Frank de Biasi
Landscape design: Naturalficial Interior Stair: Martin Creed
Photographer: Emilio Collavino, Morris Moreno (first image)