Amalgam
The conceptual idea is inspired by the life story of the Owners who commissioned this project. Involved in previous unions with their own children, traumatic events changed both of their lives. Healing from their unfortunate circumstances and both newly single, their individual life trajectories shifted the day they met. Different in nature and personality but with similar life events and experiences, they desired to establish a new place that embodies their individuality while fusing their union: an Amalgam.
Composed of two intersecting linear volumes, the building’s principal architectural gesture interprets two life trajectories. Once singular, independent, and on individual paths, their intersection establishes a connecting node. Each with distinguishing qualities and characteristics, similar to a life punctuated by life-marking events, the linear volumes meld into one composition, creating an Amalgam of form, materials, light and shadow.
Simpler in its constitution, the north-south oriented volume is grounded by a board-formed cast-in-place concrete layer that extends the length of the property to connect the street side to the wide canal at the back of the property. Showcasing the private aspects of the program, which are mostly opaque in materiality with moments of transparencies that orient themselves towards a centralized landscaped courtyard and pool, the second story features the guest suites and primary suite.
On the other hand, the east-west volume embodies a light and transparent nature. Elevated above the ground plane, it is supported by a grid of steel columns and beams that define an outdoor living room below. As opposed to the north-south volume, the east-west bar reaches the width of the property and contains the public programmatic elements. The lifted orientation of the kitchen, dining room, and living room takes advantage of water views of the pool below and the canal beyond. Surrounded on two sides by glass, privacy from the street side is achieved with the strategic location of a large screen made of vertical wood battens. A “pop-up” roof above the open floor plan reinforces the individual aspect of this volume while establishing a balancing act of scale and proportion.
The elevated lighter volume connects to its counterpart by inserting itself perpendicularly. Reaching beyond the limits of the physical boundaries of the denser volume, the east-west volume bisects it by infusing the connecting node with diffused natural light. This intersecting node constitutes the physical moment of a blend between vertical and horizontal circulation within the two volumes. It also integrates the tangibility of the material palette by juxtaposing the rigidity of the board-formed concrete with the softness and warmth of wood.
Location:
Bird Key | Sarasota, Florida
Status:
Completion: 2025
Visualization:
© 2022 | NU.MA
