Evoking the past to design the future. This is what the American architects of Traction Architecture did in Bougainvillea House, a single-family home rising out of the ashes of a home built in the Art Moderne style of the '40s in Sarasota, Florida.
Traction Architecture approached the design of this private home by studying the neighbourhood's history and evolution. This was their starting point and the project's source of inspiration: the lot where they were to build had previously been the site of a house built in Art Moderne style in the '40s, scheduled for demolition.
The architects could not save the old building, so they decided to pay homage to it in the style and form of the new house.
And so Bougainvillea House contains references to its predecessor: in the rigid, symmetrical geometry that divides the spaces in the home into unusual volumes, in the arrangement of the doors and windows, in the veranda and the outdoor swimming pool, and in the "angularity" defining its identity, with a composition designed to give the building a dynamic yet rigorous look.
This rigour, this geometry, could give the impression of a cold, aggressive environment. And yet, upon entering the home, the presence of wood and the choice of furnishings create the cosy, relaxed atmosphere everyone wants to create in the home, without of course forgetting that we are living in the twenty-first century.
Francesco Cibati
Year: 2014
Location: Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A.
Design: Traction Architecture - Jody Beck, Ross-Alan Tisdale
Photos: Greg Wilson, Mina Brinkey, Traction Architecture
www.tractionarchitecture.com
