So many homes today are hermetically sealed from their surroundings, much less the universe at large. Not so for New York architect Christian Wassmann's just-completed Sun Path House, a three-storey cast-in-place concrete extension to a renovated 1930's bungalow in Miami Beach. Its rounded core wall - off of which the rest of the 540 square foot structure is cantilevered - at its apex traces the curving path of the sun on the longest day of the year.
'In and around the house you have a constant awareness that the sun is doing something to you,' said Wassmann, who likes to talk about the 'cosmic influence' on his work. The spiraling wall, which contains a stair and a chimney (for a pizza oven), is at first gentle, then tightly rounded, like a bass clef in sheet music.
Wassmann's client, restaurateur Frank Prisinzano (who owns well-known New York eateries like Frank, Lil' Frankie's, Sauce, and Supper), asked for a tree house. The twisting core acts as the trunk, while the rest of the structure – a glazed central floor containing a master bedroom, an open ground floor cooking and dining space and an upper level roof deck (where the wall reflects light onto sunbathers) – are surrounded by the plot's palm trees and plants, as well as vines growing up the side of the house along metal cables. Indeed the home is more about the experience of what's around it than what's inside.
"I wanted to make kind of a temple to worship the sun,' said Wassmann, who knew that the weather was Prisinzano's main reason for coming to Miami. 'I started with the sun diagram and realized I could take it literally to design the house.'
The concrete spine leans slightly back, with living spaces in front and support areas like bathrooms and technical zones behind. Besides concrete and coated glass, the home contains ipe and walnut floors and furniture, a terrazzo ground floor, and marine grade aluminum fittings.
Much of the structure, said Wassmann, is an homage to Organic Modernist masters like Oscar Niemeyer and John Lautner. The concrete is exposed, with no patches over slight imperfections, and it meets directly with the building's floors, without baseboards. The home contains furniture by Eames, Saarinen, and Aalto, and it has several elements that reference the central backbone, such as curving aluminum rail supports, 3D printed rounded door handles, and warped night lamps.
If you're attending Design Miami, the home's Grand Opening is on December 3, while tours are available by appointment through December 5.
Aplty named the Sun Path House, the structure is an inspired three-storey extension to a renovated 1930's bungalow in Miami Beach
The architect wanted to create a house that is open and connected to its surroundings and the natural elements
Its rounded core wall - off of which the rest of the 540 square foot structure is cantilevered - at its apex traces the curving path of the sun on the longest day of the year
The rest of the structure includes a glazed central floor containing a master bedroom...
...complete with ensuite bathroom. There is also an open ground floor cooking and dining space...
...and an upper level roof deck, where the wall reflects light onto sunbathers
This open home is designed almost as an experience of what is around it, than inside it
INFORMATION
For more information on Christian Wassmann visit the website
Photography: Todd Eberle
-
Sabine Marcelis has revisited her Ikea lamp and it’s a colourful marvelSabine Marcelis’ ‘Varmblixt’ lamp for Ikea returns in a new colourful, high-tech guise
-
Is the Waldorf Astoria New York the ‘greatest of them all’? Here’s our reviewAfter a multi-billion-dollar overhaul, New York’s legendary grand dame is back in business
-
Colleen Allen’s poetic womenswear is made for the modern-day witchAllen is one of New York’s brightest young fashion stars. As part of Wallpaper’s Uprising column, Orla Brennan meets the American designer to talk femininity, witchcraft and the transformative experience of dressing up
-
A group of friends built this California coastal home, rooted in nature and modern designNestled in the Sea Ranch community, a new coastal home, The House of Four Ecologies, is designed to be shared between friends, with each room offering expansive, intricate vistas
-
Step inside this resilient, river-facing cabin for a life with ‘less stuff’A tough little cabin designed by architects Wittman Estes, with a big view of the Pacific Northwest's Wenatchee River, is the perfect cosy retreat
-
Remembering Robert A.M. Stern, an architect who discovered possibility in the pastIt's easy to dismiss the late architect as a traditionalist. But Stern was, in fact, a design rebel whose buildings were as distinctly grand and buttoned-up as his chalk-striped suits
-
Own an early John Lautner, perched in LA’s Echo Park hillsThe restored and updated Jules Salkin Residence by John Lautner is a unique piece of Californian design heritage, an early private house by the Frank Lloyd Wright acolyte that points to his future iconic status
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
-
The Stahl House – an icon of mid-century modernism – is for sale in Los AngelesAfter 65 years in the hands of the same family, the home, also known as Case Study House #22, has been listed for $25 million
-
Houston's Ismaili Centre is the most dazzling new building in America. Here's a look insideLondon-based architect Farshid Moussavi designed a new building open to all – and in the process, has created a gleaming new monument
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fountainhead will be opened to the public for the first timeThe home, a defining example of the architect’s vision for American design, has been acquired by the Mississippi Museum of Art, which will open it to the public, giving visitors the chance to experience Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius firsthand
