The Florida House
A New Regional Identity
Building on the early work of Paul Rudolph, this project argues for a new residential space that is well tempered to the climatic and environmental pressures of present-day Florida. It begins by considering the regional climate which is defined by its three primary conditions- hotness, wetness, and the underground limestones that line the Floridian bedrock. By utilizing a common suburban lot (7200 sqft), existing resources, and rising water conditions, the lot is divided into a diptych. Half is excavation and the other half is the raised mound from the removed dirt. Limestones are also extracted from this excavation. Having employed a diptych as a site plan, the raised portion is a platform which receives the dwelling and the lower half is a garden (possibly a water garden after rain). Using a double figure for the site, the house has a 4-quadrant division. It is a 24x24 cube of limestone. This volume may be used entirely as a single room or subdivided vertically. Its floor plan is square, both yielding variations of plans and programs. Additional rooms can be added, over time, through varying permutations. Finally, this composition is covered by an overarching roof-shield which offers shade and closure from the rain. It’s both a shading device and a water gatherer for both the bath and the garden.
Because this is a search for a new Floridian
architecture, the house must evolve from its ascertain yet immediate form to
its heightened and refined expression as high architecture. This is an
architectural process which restarts from the beginning and ascends to its
unique apotheosis. This first house is a modern Floridian hut. The initial and
most severe manifestation of space produced from the material, climatic, a
cultural context of its surroundings. It is pure and honest. It is functional
yet eternal. This is something which could only ever be produced in Florida and
Florida alone.
Ground Floor
Second Floor
Roof
Floridian dwellings saw only a brief moment of
typological experimentation
in the post-war period
before quickly regressing to stylistically illiterate pastiche. There are rarely any new projects which are appropriate for this region today. The Florida House is an antidote to this regression.
The average home in the U.S. uses 10,400
kWh of electricity per year. If one installs the average 250-watt solar
panel, 28-34 solar panels are necessary to generate enough energy to power
the entire home.
The Florida House has 32 solar panels that each
produce 2607.64 Watts for a total of 83,444.48 Watts of power. This
figure rests on the upper limit of the amount of energy consumed by the average
American Household (7000~8000 Watts). This means that the Florida House produces 8 times the amount of electricity it consumes offering the potential to divest excess energy back into the power-grid.