Beach Road 2 is slipped into a rolling terrain of sensitive coastal sand dunes that stretches along the edge of a Floridian barrier Island, hard against the Atlantic Ocean.
Recognizing that environmental restrictions would restrict the shape of the building’s envelope on the site, we saw the opportunity to thread the house between a pre-existing sea wall and the state coastal control line.
Working within this thin boundary, the primary spaces of the house are arranged into three distinct parts, each different in its material and openness. While all rooms look to the east to take advantage of the extraordinary views, the walls become more transparent as they march south.
The bedroom wing is the most solid, with punctured windows set into stucco, colored to match the surrounding sand. The resulting affect is to see it rising from the adjacent beach. Two guest rooms sit atop the master bedroom.
On the opposite end of the house is a frameless two-story living room enclosed by a taut, fretted glass envelope that blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor. This space provides an elevated, unobstructed view of the ever changing waters beyond. Linking the two, the central kitchen area is the main gathering/entertaining area.
The professional grade kitchen becomes a magnet for visitors and owners alike. Open to the east, a wall of aluminum louvers protects the room from the low western sun. Entering from a sloped entry hall, visitors encounter light unexpectedly entering the space from the bottom of a glass bottomed rooftop lap pool.
Whether viewed from above or below, the compelling nature of the transparent pool provides a visual and visceral link of the house to the surrounding waters. AIA/TC Design Excellence Award – Beach Road 2. Source and images Courtesy of Hughes Umbanhowar Architects.
