San Marino Residence

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARCHITECTS:

San Marino Residence, located on an island in the Biscayne Bay, is a reinterpretation of the regional post-war Miami Modernist architecture movement. The clients, who own a winery in Santa Barbara, California, asked for an indoor-outdoor experience set within a tropical landscape that creates a sense of being on the water. Nestled among neighboring houses and a lush garden, the residence’s plan and form create a visceral oasis.

The house is designed to fit within a narrow, wedge-shaped site and organized to provide framed views of the water and Miami Beach skyline. It is composed of three primary linear elements: a two-story bar along the site’s western edge that contains living and sleeping spaces; an elevated lap pool that reaches out to the bay; and a single-story guest and office wing along the property’s eastern edge. The pool, with its dramatic 18-foot cantilever, marks the home’s entry and primary axis, leading to a walkway that runs the full length of the pool above.

Living and sleeping areas are cooled by prevailing sea breezes through large operable glass doors that open to the garden, shaded by broad roof overhangs that mitigate solar heat gain at the full-height window walls. An open stair bathed in natural daylight connects the living and sleeping levels, while floor-to-floor glazing connects the interiors to an abundance of outdoor decks and balconies. A minimalist palette of concrete, Ipe, white oak, and limestone serves as a neutral canvas and complements the home’s tropical landscape.

Project Credits
Project: San Marino Residence, Miami Beach, Florida
Architect: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Peter Bohlin, FAIA, principal; Daniel Lee, AIA, associate principal; George Murphy, AIA, project manager; Christopher Renn, project architect
Interior Designer: Deborah Wecselman Design
General Contractor: Woolems, Inc.
Landscape Architect: Nievera Williams
Structural Engineer: Silman
Mechanical Engineer: Altieri
Electrical Engineer: Altieri
Photography: Jeffrey Totaro
Size: 5,192 square feet