Blackburn Bay Residence

Set on a Gulf to Bay barrier island property, the owners of this residence requested a contemporary home that avoided the ubiquitous look of the ‘white modern boxes’ so common along the west coast of Florida. The owners sought a structure that blurred the boundary between nature and architecture, land and water, straight lines, and curved forms. Architect Jerry Sparkman, AIA, NCARB, proposed a “split-level hugger,” a hybrid plan that borrows from the American suburban split-level house type, loosely joins it with a modified courtyard model, and elevates the entire structure to respond to FEMA flood plain requirements and coastal resiliency standards of construction.

The architectural response to this program and landscape relationship comprised sinuous lines, nonorthogonal forms, and inflection towards the Gulf and Bay. Materials: stucco, tabby, glass, wood, and ground concrete floor slabs were chosen to endure the corrosive coastal environment. The landscape ground plane wraps around, up, and under the home, suggesting that architecture and site are inseparable.