Domus Alba
Landscaping includes minimal site disruption and uses drivable grass surface instead of traditional pavement for the impervious sections of the site. Use of electric-powered vehicles is part of the owner’s overall sustainability strategy. Xeriscaping techniques reduce the need for additional irrigation. Plants on the property are drought-tolerant
The home’s crisp, white geometric structure is juxtaposed against the naturally lush, green landscape and blue skies. The site’s soils composition included an ooletic limestone, which was excavated to construct the foundations of the house. Ooletic limestone was also used to form a landscape retaining wall along the front of the property.
The site is located adjacent to Biscayne Bay, and borders a public park and nature preserve. Immersed in the region’s unique natural qualities, the home endeavors not to disturb the environment, but to connect visually and experientially by creating a protected indoor-outdoor living environment.
The bright white roof and decks combine with the white limestone walls such that vertical and horizontal surface becomes unified.
The bright white exterior and interior, plus deep blue accents, of the home lends itself to the nautical theme of the community, where many sailboats are moored behind the homes along the waterways.
Within the Great Room, is a pavilion-like element with outward sloping Peacock-blue walls. This functionally important structure provides space for a powder room for guests, a buffet counter and shelving for the dining area, as well as a coat closet with space for shoe removal serving as one of the home’s LEED accommodations. Integrated into the façade of the home are 28 three-foot by three-foot by one-foot deep square windows, that are floor to ceiling.
The house is separated into three programmatic zones: Bedrooms; Great Room; and Family Living. Tripartite massing and spatial sequence provide for an unfolding experience. Solid walls transition into a concrete and glass grid when approaching the front door. Upon entry, the space opens vertically and directs attention toward the rear, where the Great Room extends onto the pool deck.
The Great Room is both indoor and outdoor, made to be secure and friendly, by the 30-foot operable glass wall and the extension of the roof over the pool.
The Great Room ties the east and west zones of the house together, and serves as the heart of the home.
The Family Room with Game Room shown in the distance brings age groups together for different activities. The second floor loft provides space for exercise equipment with a bridge leading to the balcony which overlooks the pool. The Big Ass Fan, LED lights, and motorized shades all contribute to energy conservation.
The design of the home provides for natural daylighting in all spaces. Door casing details and baseboards were designed for elegance and to minimize dust.
The Game Room provides spaces for play, creativity, and exploration. This area has a view into the pool deck and allows in soft natural light.
The Kitchen extends visually to the Family Room, Game Room, and bridge to the tower’s spiral stair, as well as across the Great Room and pool deck.
Material selection includes all FSC-certified bamboo woods, recycled glass wall tiles, and NSF-certified quartz countertops. All appliances are Energy-Star-rated and floor material throughout the house use rectified porcelain tile which requires no chemical sealants and does not absorb liquids. The Control4 panel located near the door serves as a central point of fixed mounted controls for the whole home automation.
Eleven-foot-tall sliding barn doors provide flexibility in separating functional and climatic areas of the home so that air conditioned space can be minimized based on occupancy.
Buffet and shelving for the dining area is integrated into the pavilion-like structure of the Great Room.
The design of the home provides for natural daylighting in all spaces. Door casing details and baseboards were designed for elegance and to minimize dust.
Low-flow plumbing fixtures are installed throughout the home with EPA WaterSense. Sinks have a flow rate of 1.5 gpm; showers have a flow rate of 1.5 gpm but maintain a high water pressure; toilets are ultra-low flow/ dual flush fixtures, using 1.28 gallons per full flush and 0.8 gallons per partial flush.
Ceiling fans are used throughout the home for cooling and all areas receive natural light. Artificial lighting includes LED bulbs to significantly reduce electricity consumption as well as eliminate bulb replacement in high ceilings.
The ceiling steps upward from north to south, from 16 feet to 21 feet. This north to south directional gesture of the stepping ceiling is intended to convey a sense of increasing openness in the progression of space upon entering the home as one moves through the Great Room toward the natural landscape. The electronic fireplace provides the feel of a true log fireplace, but avoids the issues of indoor air pollutants or risk of fire damage.
24 three-foot by three-foot by one-foot deep square windows sit on a 30-foot-long concrete beam on the south side of the home which allows for sliding glass doors to enable the Great Room to be closed off from the outside during poor weather or for the use of air conditioning. During good weather conditions, the sliding doors open to welcome a large outdoor Great Room sitting area and direct views to the surrounding landscape and nearby pool and Jacuzzi spa.
The Great Room roof is part solid and part open by the use of a screen canopy, supported on its fourth side by a cantilevered beam, which also supports the bifacial solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. The PV panels double as a canopy while producing enough electricity at mid-day to power the energy demands of two to three typical size homes.
The Great Room is completely integrated in a way that’s makes the space part of the home and also serves as a transition portal into the surrounding natural environment.
The Outdoor Kitchen is protected from the elements while still being integrated with views to nature.
The Outdoor Dining provides additional options for entertainment.
The upstairs Guest Terrace provides a private and secluded space for visitors to relax.
The 22-foot-tall spiral stair extends up the tower from the loft level to the observation deck, and incorporates 20 vertical solar hot water evacuation tubes sufficient to meet all hot water needs.
The home connects and opens to the natural surroundings through the use of motorized, retractable screens. This modern-day adaptive, climatic design response was first embraced by architect Igor Polevitzky in the 1940s and ‘50s. Polevitzky developed the ideas of the “Tropotype” house model and the “Tropical Home” to accommodate Florida tropical climate. His designs were characterized by being concrete, expressing cubic and linear forms with two-story living spaces, and screened-in enclosures.
The outdoor pool includes an infinity edge with Jacuzzi spa that features a waterfall and jet streams. The pool uses a salt treatment system rather than using chlorine and other potentially harmful chemicals.
The Nature Observation tower connects the home visually to the larger community and allows for views to Downtown Miami, Key Biscayne, and the surrounding nature preserve and park, and provides a base support for a future wind turbine.