Holden Sho Miles




Architecture

Chimborazo Cultural Center
Cascading Library
Q-Bert Stairs 
The Florida House
A Necessary Reminder
The St. Augustine House
Neotopia
Folio & Folly
Memory of Space
Building Project
Made in Livonia


Explorations

Kabuto
Deepfakes
Affordance
Ruins, Ruination, & Reuse
Formal Analysis
The Corner at Wooster
Pliant Bodies
Fractured Impressions
Groundwater Earth
Enfilade House
A Day in the Life of a Utopia
About
holden.miles@yale.edu
holden_miles_iterations
 Holden Miles




The St. Augustine House


A New Regional Type for St. Augustine, Florida

(originally featured on @one_house_per_day entries #548 & #549)

    Building on the traditional St. Augustine methods of residential expansion, whereby additions are created vertically or laterally within the confines of a plot, this project proposes houses with the ability to extend through neighboring plots by a connective pedestrian bridge. Because the sectional gaps between opposing cantilever balconies of vernacular buildings are already miniscule, spanning the entire length of the street with a bridge honors the existing urban condition. Inversely, while the upper section is merged, the pedestrian level is pushed back in an act of urban decongestion. This new space is reserved for a small garden which continues the St. Augustine tradition of entering through gardens before accessing the house. 

Roughly 10 feet in width, the bridge is meant to foster more than movement between dwellings and can afford chairs, tables, and activities generally housed within traditional porches. The bridge itself is made from CLT while the roof is suspended above, hung from the roof overhangs of the opposing buildings. The screened façade admits light while retaining privacy within the bridge but can also swing open for a more transparent condition.

The two homes are a variant of St. Augustine plan typologies: One based on the simple “common plan” and the other on the vernacular “St. Augustine plan”. The first house maintains the versatility and simplicity of the common plan but fractures their placement within a network of gardens and raised verandahs. A reinterpretation of the Cracker “dogtrot” breezeway, these openings allow ample airflow throughout the house while taking advantage of the temperate climate. Raising the ground floor not only grants privacy and distance from the urban front, but avoids prevalent floods and pests. Finally, the verandahs are covered by removable wooden screens to ensure maximum privacy, while allowing the occupants the option to remove them for a more unclosed environment.

With an emphasis on the loggia entrance, thick masonry walls, and climatic orientation, the second St. Augustine house is based on the vernacular “St. Augustine” plan. Instead of several small gardens, this house has one large garden which greets the visitor upon entering the plot. It is comprised of a tree bearing grassy-platform suspended above a large pool and acts as the focal point of the dwelling. The tree aids in dispersing direct sunlight while the pool reflects and refracts light through the glazing and into the house. Instead of treating the garden as a compositional counterweight to the dwelling, here it is incorporated as the primary visual anchor.











































Ground Floor
Second Floor