036_Coconut Grove Cottage Extension and Preservation 2
036 Front Facade
036 Side Facade
036 Interior
036 Backyard Facade
Project: Coconut Grove Cottage Extension and Preservation 2
Architecture: TROPICA
Landscape Design: TROPICA
Interior Design: TROPICA
GC: iBUILD
Landscape Installation: TROPICA
Status: In Design
Design: Ongoing
Build:
Location: Coconut Grove, Miami, FL
TEXT:
Five Coconut Grove cottage preservation and addition projects are currently underway in our office.
We’re grateful to work on these houses, originally built by shipbuilders in the early and mid-1900s, when Miami was still forming. Most are being demolished today and replaced with oversized white volumes driven by square footage. We see another path.
Each project studies the existing cottage and extends it, not by imitation, but by interpreting its logic and character within contemporary needs.
In this specific project, the most essential portion of the original cottage is preserved. Around it, a concrete volume defines the maximum zoning envelope allowed on the site. The pressure to build the maximum allowable square footage is always present.
But instead of leaving that volume abstract or purely industrial, we used historical photographs and drawings to imprint the image of the original cottage into the concrete. The memory of what was there remains present, even as the structure evolves.
Within this cast, a new house is built in wood. Columns, beams, and roof follow the construction language of the original cottage, allowing it to continue as a living system rather than a relic.
The concrete illustrates the new reality we live in, while the existing cottage and new wooden construction carry the memory of the past glory of these beautiful structures.
Images:
036 Interior
036 Backyard Facade
Project: Coconut Grove Cottage Extension and Preservation 2
Architecture: TROPICA
Landscape Design: TROPICA
Interior Design: TROPICA
GC: iBUILD
Landscape Installation: TROPICA
Status: In Design
Design: Ongoing
Build:
Location: Coconut Grove, Miami, FL
TEXT: Five Coconut Grove cottage preservation and addition projects are currently underway in our office.
We’re grateful to work on these houses, originally built by shipbuilders in the early and mid-1900s, when Miami was still forming. Most are being demolished today and replaced with oversized white volumes driven by square footage. We see another path.
Each project studies the existing cottage and extends it, not by imitation, but by interpreting its logic and character within contemporary needs.
In this specific project, the most essential portion of the original cottage is preserved. Around it, a concrete volume defines the maximum zoning envelope allowed on the site. The pressure to build the maximum allowable square footage is always present.
But instead of leaving that volume abstract or purely industrial, we used historical photographs and drawings to imprint the image of the original cottage into the concrete. The memory of what was there remains present, even as the structure evolves.
Within this cast, a new house is built in wood. Columns, beams, and roof follow the construction language of the original cottage, allowing it to continue as a living system rather than a relic.
The concrete illustrates the new reality we live in, while the existing cottage and new wooden construction carry the memory of the past glory of these beautiful structures.
Images:
Process:
036_Existing Cottage
036_Existing Cottage