Raising the bar: Miami architect Rene Gonzalez designs for rising sea levels

Throughout his career, American architect Rene Gonzalez has been exploring ideas of elevated living and raised housing - his fascination comes as a practical response to rising sea levels in and around his hometown of Miami. His inspiring designs are now on display for the first time at Miami's Meeting House, in the new exhibition: 'Rene Gonzalez Architect: Elevated Living'.
Featuring models, drawings, hand sketches - presented through Gonzalez's own sketchbooks - and photography, the new show, which opened in the downtown Miami gallery on the weekend, explores the challenges and possible solutions related to this increasing threat.
Three houses from Gonzalez's rich portfolio - Farrey Lane House, Golden Beach residence and Prairie Avenue residence - as well as his architecture school project thesis on Florida Keys, demonstrate a range of approaches towards building off the ground level.
The projects are currently either already in construction or in design development. Spanning cantilevers, stacking methods and stilts, these houses may differ in their design response, but all serve as valuable case studies. In all cases, the ground floor is given a specific function, yet at the same time is allowed to flood, protecting the rest of the house.
A series of talks by relevant experts will accompany the show, enhancing the ongoing dialogue around the issues touched by the exhibition.
The show explores Gonzalez's designs on elevating housing through key residential projects - pictured, Farrey Lane House. Image: DBOX, courtesy Rene Gonzalez Architect
The projects are currently either in construction or in design development and span different approaches around protecting a building from flood. Image: DBOX, courtesy Rene Gonzalez Architect
Featuring models, drawings, hand sketches and photography, the show explores the challenges and possible solutions related to the threat of rising sea levels
Accompanying these valuable case studies, a series of talks by relevant experts will enhance the ongoing dialogue around the issues touched by the exhibition
INFORMATION
Rene Gonzalez Architect: Elevated Living runs untiil 14 November
Images: Courtesy Rene Gonzalez Architect
ADDRESS
meetinghouse
The Huntington Building, 168 SE 1st Street, Penthouse
Miami, Florida
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Rediscover a classic midcentury hotel in Sydney
Fender Katsalidis leads a major renovation of the landmark Sofitel Sydney Wentworth hotel, pairing 1960s modernism with an elevated, Australian-minded reset
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expect
Five moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio