Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio Housing Projects
BELLE MER CONDOMINIUMS
An ambitious program and a small lot on the Gulf of Mexico called for a reinterpretation of the standard Florida condominium prototype. In the design process, the building was rotated 45 degrees to the coast, making efficient use of the narrow site and maximizing views of the island, the Gulf and the bay.
Rising as a narrow, pointed tower, the building is anchored to the landscape with a monumental entry stair from the parking and courtyard spaces. The canopy over the stair provides a dry entrance, but more importantly serves to visually terminate the tall building at the third story, creating a scale sympathetic to the landscape and pedestrian perspective. From the top of the stairs, one can see northward over the arbors to the bay bridge, and southward through a barrel-vaulted passage, over the pool to the Gulf.
Traditionally perimeter features, the stair towers and elevators were brought inboard, allowing living spaces to wrap uninterrupted from north to south with water views from every room.
|