The 4, 000 square foot find an architect, Florida home is built using LEED principles in
energy-efficiency, innovation, and recycled materials
Glass House Architects
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | Rex Nichols Architects
We should acknowledge that it
was Mies van der Rohe the architect who designed the 1st Glass House. Due to
litigation, Ms Farnsworth did not allow Mies to name her home as the Glass
House, but the follower Philip Johnson did. You can imagine how Mies van der
Rohe felt when he saw Philip Johnson naming his design as the 1st Glass
House.
A contemporary Glass House designed by Rex Nichols Architects and
developer, Jeff Hendricks Home, is coming to Florida. The 4, 000 square foot
residency is awaiting permit approval in order to begin construction at 2309
Barcelona Drive in Las Olas Isles in Fort Lauderdale but that didn’t stop RNA
from releasing its exquisite renderings. According to the press release, “the
Glass House” will cost about $5 million once its completed mid-2019.
In a
press release, RNA design leader for contemporary architecture, Alex Penna says
the home’s inspiration came from adding a contemporary aesthetic to a similar
steel and glass house constructed in 1945 by architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe.
Penna also says he’s influenced by Deconstruction - the school of philosophy
initiated by Jacques Derrida and the psychoanalytic approach of Jacques Lacan.
The four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom, property will be an open-concept
space with floor to ceiling unobstructed views of a private back garden. Web
link - 3d walk-through video of RNA Glass House.
Glass House Architects |
Fort Lauderdale, FL | Rex Nichols Architects
An open plan kitchen, dining
room, and great room create the ideal atmosphere for entertaining, while still
obtaining a family living appeal.
Glass House Architects | Fort Lauderdale,
FL | Rex Nichols Architects
A spacious office with floor-to-ceiling sliding
glass doors in the front of the home offers a serene and sweeping
space.
Glass House Architects | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Rex Nichols
Architects
The abode will also include a wrap-around pool and Jacuzzi,
complete with an infinity waterfall, that’s accessible through exposed sliding
glass doors.
What really distinguishes “the Glass House” from modernist
architects is the fact that the design is not primarily set for function, but it
is also to create a building design that can be seen as a sculpture. The
contemporary Glass House not only tries to stay away from the pure functionalism
and simple forms of Mid-Century architecture, by giving emphasis to the building
aesthetic towards a sculptural design, but it also incorporates sustainability
design with LEED standards. LEED standards a criteria seen in developments such
as Midtown 29, Terminal B at PortMiami, and the eco-friendly, $28 million super
yacht, Safira.
Alex Penna, the architect firm’s design leader who holds a
grandfathered LEED AP® accreditation, is thrilled to be building Fort
Lauderdale’s first glass house by LEED standards, notes a press release.
LEED
AP accreditation is through the U. S. Green Building Council, a private,
membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in
building design, construction, and operation. In an exclusive interview with
Curbed Miami, Penna explained that even though the project owner didn’t request
a LEED certified home, his RNA team built it with LEED’s sustainability
principles. For Penna’s version of the “Glass House, ” he focused on three LEED
standards -energy-efficiency design, innovation in design, and recycled
materials which, for all intended purposes, makes for a green design
home.
“Because the project location is in Florida, we [were] inspired by
energy-efficiency design, providing shading, daylight-efficiency, and cross
ventilation, ” Penna says.
For example, Penna and company used high-end
daylight and sunlight computer simulator software to create a canopy that blocks
direct sunlight at noon and during the summer to reach the interior of the home.
There’s more innovation. For instance, in the living room, a sun-shelf redirects
year-long direct sunlight beams that passes through the skylight to become a
source of natural light to illuminate the space, Penna says. “The redirection of
the sunlight will enhance daylight levels, distribution and quantity, ” Penna
says. “This is a great way to save money on electricity for the entire year.
”The home also uses composite wood (a form of recycled wood with thermoplastic
components), high energy-efficiency heating pumps, roof icynene insulation from
renewable materials, and insulated low-e glass.
