The design-build addition is now completed. The existing residence was cut off from exceptional views of Sarasota Bay. The only access from the elevated house to the bay was by means of a narrow stair in the side yard. The renovation and addition opens the house up for the views and connects to the bay with a new set of 12’ wide stairs carved out from the existing 8’ high plinth.
The interior of the existing house was centered on a cavernous double height space lit by small glass block windows. The addition adds a mezzanine level, a dining wing and a generous shaded porch on the bay side. A glass bridge extends through the width of the house from the existing entry foyer to a balcony on the bay side, pulling the inhabitant toward the shaded porch and the bay.
Built-in bookcases for the storage and display of the owner’s colored glass collection are accessed from the glass bridge. The roof of the porch spans a full thirty feet over the elevated pool framing the long views over the bay. Two cuts in the roof turn the large porch into a three dimensional sundial. The sun also reflects onto the south portion of the pool and bounces light back onto the ceiling of this exterior volume.
The glass bridge is in place along with teh interior glass rail. The exterior space only requires the pool finish and the rail. All the rails should be installed next week.
Rolled broken glass leftover from the demolition of the existing house is mixed in with shell and very coarse sand to create the new terrazzo flooring. This terrazzo flooring will extend from the entry foyer to the pool deck facing Sarasota Bay.
The stucco finish is applied on the exterior. The light slices through openings in the overhead plane adding character to the exterior shaded space. Warm humid air is encouraged to escape through a slot between the existing house and its addition keeping the exterior space cool year round while bringing ample light to the existing living room.
The roof structure over the exterior double height space is in place. The overall form of the addition is clearly readable. The house now opens up to receive the bay with a large outdoor room, stretching the interior to the outside. The steel is in place to support the glass bridge and the sliders in the two story opening.
