{"id":201112,"date":"2022-10-05T16:04:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T20:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=201112"},"modified":"2022-12-05T14:31:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T19:31:41","slug":"miami-home-strang-design-tropical-modernist","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/miami-home-strang-design-tropical-modernist\/","title":{"rendered":"This Tropical Modernist Miami Home is at One With its Surroundings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"The
The ground level exterior features walls of Jerusalem stone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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October 5, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Stephen Treffinger<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Kris Tamburello<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This Tropical Modernist Miami Home is at One With its Surroundings<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis house is surprising for Miami,\u201d admits Max Strang, founding principal of Strang Design. While the city\u2019s name typically conjures up visions of South Beach residences packed on prime palm-tree-lined waterfront properties, he and firm partners Alexandra Mangimelli and Elizabeth Starr created something altogether different for a family relocating from Brazil. On an estate-sized oak grove just 20 minutes from downtown, the project accurately reflects the couple\u2019s heritage in everything from the layout and materials to the landscaping and furnishings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The house that originally stood on the lot was torn down, allowing a new one to grow from the ground up. The studio specializes in contextualizing homes to their immediate surroundings via use of natural materials, eschewing plain white boxes. Here, this approach translated to an earthy palette and the placement of plant life\u2014and the structure itself\u2014in a manner that blurs the line between building and landscape. \u201cWe were careful to work with existing oaks and gumbo limbos when siting the house,\u201d Strang<\/a> recalls. The firm designed planters to wrap the second-floor exterior, supplemented by aluminum privacy louvers that double as trellises, enabling vines to climb up the facade. \u201cEventually, the elevations will be partially enveloped in the growth,\u201d he predicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aluminum
Aluminum louvers on the stucco-clad second story provide privacy while serving as trellises; floor-to-ceiling pocket doors throughout abet a fluid indoor-outdoor experience. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The project, Strang continues, \u201cpresented an opportunity to marry our firm style, which we describe as \u2018environmental modernism,\u2019 with the more tropical modernism of the Brazilian aesthetic.\u201d An H-shape footprint creates a series of wings, a configuration that allows light to spill into every corner. Multiple rooms feature floor-to-ceiling glass pocket doors that open onto a pool, abetting an easy rapport between indoors and out while upholding a strong sense of privacy. The sliders are also practical: \u201cMiami is hot as hell, but as long as you have generous shade and a little bit of a breeze, you\u2019re fine,\u201d Strang notes. Starr adds that the openness of the layout suits the clients\u2019 lifestyle: \u201cHow the family entertains informed the variety of seating areas and the circulation between them, as well as the creation of interior and exterior spaces that flow into one to another.\u201d The latter include a patio-adjacent club room equipped with an exhaust system to handle cigar smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The furnishings, many of which were collected by the owners over the years, pay poetic homage to the concept of relocation. The living room contains midcentury pieces by Jorge Zalszupin, who moved to Rio de Janiero in 1949 after fleeing his native Poland to escape Nazi persecution, and Jean Gillon, born in Romania and later based in S\u00e3o Paulo. Both were known for their use of local materials and traditional furniture-making techniques. Also inhabiting several rooms is seating by Sergio Rodrigues, frequently referred to as the father of Brazilian furniture design, who made languorous pieces that responded to his country\u2019s tropical climate and easygoing way of life. They\u2019re right at home here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the palette is predominantly earth-tone, with travertine flooring and abundant teak paneling, generous moments of color are provided by the homeowners\u2019 art collection. Works on display are drawn from an international roster, including Ethiopian talent Elias Sime; Munich-born New York\u2013based Janaina Tsch\u00e4pe (who was raised in S\u00e3o Paulo); and Amir Nikravan, an American artist of Iranian and Mexican descent. The design team provided settings that create a rich, varied backdrop. One piece, Sime\u2019s Tightrope: I Want to Slow Down and Think, 2017, a collage of repurposed electronic components, was bought while the house was under construction, \u201cso we had to find a wall that would work,\u201d Mangimelli says. A secondary seating area in the main living space became the designated spot. \u201cThe piece really looks like it was meant to be there,\u201d she notes of the serendipitous result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
A Janaina Tsch\u00e4pe painting, Amir Nikravan sculpture, Jorge Zalszupin coffee table, and Jean Gillon armchairs furnish the living area\u2019s main seating vignette.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In keeping with South American tradition, the kitchen is not the central hub, but rather positioned off to one side of the floor plan. That said, it\u2019s no wallflower\u2014note the dramatic geometric-patterned backsplash tile. \u201cIt was definitely the right way to go,\u201d Mangimelli says of the attention-grabbing encaustic mosaic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the residence is well-suited to entertaining, it does have a public\/private divide, with the more tucked-away second floor housing bedrooms, a family room, and a gym. One wing is devoted to guest quarters and the two childrens\u2019 rooms, the other to the primary suite. Despite the home\u2019s generous size\u201410,000 square feet\u2014it contains only five bedrooms. The intent was to create spacious sanctums, Mangimelli says, \u201crather than see how many bedrooms we could fit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the 1.5-acre plot, the clients\u2019 request was a garden that gives joy. To accomplish this, Strang Design collaborated with La Casona Garden to create a \u201cmanifold sensory experience of sight, smell, hearing, and taste\u2014a garden of earthly delights,\u201d landscape designer Ana Miron explains. Plantings are diverse, a mix of ground cover, flowers, small bushes, and various sizes of trees, designed to complement the oaks. Native species are included, as well as a section certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a wildlife habitat, with the land offering ideal conditions, Miron says, \u201cfor companion species, birds, bees, butterflies, and squirrels.\u201d And, of course, the property\u2019s human residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The ground level exterior features walls of Jerusalem stone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Sergio
Sergio Rodrigues chairs and a Jonny Niesche canvas animate the intimate sitting zone at the far end of the living area. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"globular
An encaustic tile backsplash accents the kitchen, with cabinetry from Mia Cucina; flooring throughout is Navona light travertine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Jorge
Jorge Zalszupin armchairs set the tone in the dining room, with walls and ceiling clad in Burmese teak; the Haywire chandelier is by David Krynauw. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The daughter\u2019s bedroom is furnished with a Togo pouf by Michel Ducaroy and a woven artwork by Tammy Kanat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
Patio furniture is from Restoration Hardware; in the club room visible beyond, Roll bar stools by Thomas Hayes join Mario Bellini\u2019s Camaleonda sofas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The wall and custom basin in the primary bath are the same Jersualem stone used on the house\u2019s exterior.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"In
In the primary bedroom, light fixtures are by Apparatus Studio and the painting is by Marcia de Moraes; George Nelson benches serve as bedside tables. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The conversation area between the living and dining rooms feature a Giuseppe Scapinelli coffee table, Sergio Rodrigues armchairs, and Elias Sime\u2019s Tightrope: I Want to Slow Down and Think, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The H-shape footprint of the house forms a protected courtyard for the pool, which extends into the rear yard. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
strang design<\/span><\/a>: maria ascoli, vanessa arteaga pe\u00f1a, viviana conley, catherine crotty<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
la casona garden<\/span><\/a>: landscape consultant<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
francisco cuello jr.; henry vidal & associates, inc.<\/span><\/a>: structural engineers<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
jorge g. maldonado<\/span><\/a>: civil engineer<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
contemporary builders, inc.<\/span><\/a>: general contractor<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
PRODUCT SOURCES<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
FROM FRONT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
david krynauw through southern guild gallery<\/span><\/a>: chandelier (dining room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
restoration hardware<\/span><\/a>: armchairs, tables (patios); beds (primary bedroom, daughter\u2019s room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
apparatus studio<\/span><\/a>: ceiling lights (club room, primary bedroom)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
mia cucina<\/span><\/a>: cabinetry, countertop (kitchen)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
artistic tile through ceramic matrix<\/span><\/a>: backsplash tile<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
subzero-wolf<\/span><\/a>: wall ovens, cooktop<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
ligne roset<\/span><\/a>: ottoman (daughter\u2019s room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Duravit<\/span><\/a>: toilet (primary bathroom)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
vola<\/span><\/a>: sink fittings<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
THROUGHOUT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
opustone<\/span><\/a>: travertine<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
es windows<\/span><\/a>: windows<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
dn design studio inc.<\/span><\/a>: millwork<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n