Completed Louver House by Rene Gonzalez

Known for leading marquee transactions in Miami and beyond, real estate investment firm Mast Capital now proves its expertise in luxury development with the completion of Louver House http://louverhouse.com/ , the firm’s first condo project in its diverse portfolio designed by Rene Gonzalez.

Louver House is nestled in the historic South of Fifth Street neighborhood of Miami Beach, a residential area noted for its art deco and mid-century architecture, as well as the enveloping natural landscape of both tropical vegetation and the sand beaches of the Atlantic Ocean.

Responding to each of these conditions, the design of this threestory, 12-unit residential building reinterprets the surrounding historical design typologies in its layout and scale.

Vernacular details such as an emphasis on horizontality and art deco “eyebrows” are expressed and translated at the building’s edges with planters as well as with the terrace balconies’ slab edges. With prominence given to the building’s corners, Louver House’s terraces also form considered visual compositions as well as functional spaces for each unit.

Measured and contemplative, the design of this residential building provides a living experience that responds to the special qualities of the site. Allowing for a balance between solidity, light and air, the façade combines modulated silver travertine feature walls and aluminum louvers.

The site of an historic 1920s Belvedere Bungalow that originally sat on the property, Louver House will also dedicate the entry pavilion and a signifi cant portion of the ground fl oor lobby to reference the original structure.

Establishing an equilibrium between the interior and exterior with garden courtyards, open air spaces and louvered planar surfaces, the design of the building takes the typically centralized interior courtyard space of an art deco design typology and cuts it up, redistributing it evenly throughout the building while maintaining signifi cant portions of the roof and ground fl oor as open space.

In its exact place, he created a louvered bungalow that will be the focal point of the entrance. Mast Capital also brought on artist Michele Oka Doner to create artwork that will hang in the lobby area. The space will be draped with plants from landscape architect Savino & Miller.

While fi rst fl oor units have private garden entryways, fl ow-through units on the upper levels are anchored by balconies on the Eastern and Western ends, and have expansive garden terraces that extend from each unit’s living rooms, creating a blurred boundary between indoor and outdoor space.

“The architectural design for Louver House has everything to do with the beauty of the building’s surroundings; we wanted to create a substantial and substantive piece of architecture that pays deference to its environment and urban condition,” says architect Rene Gonzalez. Source by Rene Gonzalez.