MORNINGSIDE RESIDENCE

 

LOCATION: MIAMI, FL

SIZE: 4,100 sf (under AC)

STATUS: BUILT

RECORD HOUSE 2025

MORNINGSIDE DESIGN HOUSE

 

This residence is located on a 15,000 sf lot within Morningside’s Historic District in Miami, Florida. The site is distinguishable by the beauty and character of its landscape – featuring a mature and shady tree canopy, comprised in part by a specimen Dade County Pine Tree in the center of the lot and several large oak trees. Design decisions were based around three questions: How can we protect as many trees as possible; how can we continue Morningside’s legacy of green space; and how can we design a new sustainable architecture for the tropics?

The solution was a tropical courtyard complex oriented on the eastern side of the lot – comprised of four buildings (two (2) two-story buildings and two (2) one-story structures) connected by glass passageways and open-air bridges. This fractured approach enabled us to integrate the majority of specimen trees within the design.

We used a steel structural system; designed narrow spread footings; and cantilevered the exterior walls to protect delicate root systems and to make the building “float.” Shou Sugi Ban siding and ipe shutters provide a natural material palette of darker colors, complemented by soft gray plaster walls and lighter natural stone and wood interior finishes. Together, structure and materials work harmoniously to ensure that the architecture remains visually subordinate to the landscape; and creates an experiential quality of living seamlessly within a tranquil, tropical hardwood “hammock.”

Fundamentally tropical by design, the project prioritizes sustainable features throughout.

  • Separate structures and narrow building footprints – each one room deep- feature operable floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, allowing for the penetration of natural light and cross ventilation.
  • The flat roof accommodates solar panels, which is located on the rear two-story structure to conceal the infrastructure from view.
  • Both one-story structures feature green roofs, reducing the urban heat island effect, assisting with stormwater management and further enhancing biodiversity on site. They also transform the view from the adjacent second-story structure, providing a roof garden in lieu of an unsightly asphalt roof.
  • Natural materials on the exterior provide a termite- and weather-resistant rain screen.
  • Designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, the site features 200 native trees, 600 native sapling trees, and hundreds of native plants on an urban lot just 150 feet from Miami’s US 1 North. A permeable hardscape further helps with stormwater management.

    • The design also builds off of the ideas of Paul Rudolf and the Sarasota School of Architecture – post-war architects who gave birth to Tropical Modernism and developed their own regional interpretations of the International Style by turning to local landscape, climate and materials to inform their designs. These architects married building traditions with passive systems, new technologies, and innovative construction techniques. Emphasis on construction methodology was central to their work (and ours); and their simple, rational, efficient buildings became models for sustainable design in the tropics.

    Using their work as inspiration, we sought an alternative to concrete (the dominant building material in residential construction in South Florida today.) The steel and glass superstructure allowed us to waste fewer materials and simplify the assembly, while increasing cross ventilation and a heightened sense of living within the landscape.

    The Owners’ interior design direction, along with their curated selection of furniture – which includes pieces from Donald Judd, John Pawson, Charlotte Perriand, and Le Corbusier, directly echoes the architectural legacy and intent, with the same simplicity of form, function and materiality.

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    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    photo credit: Joe Fletcher

    Under Construction

    Under Construction

    Axon

    Site Plan

    First Floor Plan

    Second Floor Plan

    Steel Frame Diagram

    Axon