This 3,600 square feet beach house is designed by Hughes Umbanhowar Architects. It’s nestles in the interstices between waterfront and road along a narrow site on the northern coast of Jupiter Island, Florida. The house is designed in modern style and is both a quaint coastal cottage and a chic isle villa. The house is separated on three areas: the sleeping one, the entertaining space, and the contemplative living space. Each segment is sensitively oriented to capture light and views. The ceramic fritted glass of the kitchen and dining room lends translucency and visual play to the south-facing two-story entertaining space. The textured face of the north-facing sleeping area underscores the ancient wisdom of worn stone, an apt sensibility for an intimate space infused soft morning light and its concomitant tranquility. The rooftop lap pool to take in the views to the east and south. Whether viewed above or below, the compelling gesture of the pool provides a visual and visceral link to the thin wavering line of twilight at dusk, or the vast cerulean midday expanse. During the day, the cool azure of the water is transmitted and transmuted into the living space through skylights embedded in the pool floor. The dynamic interplay of light and shadow invigorates the space below. Situated on the beach, the house affords direct access to the water, reinforcing the immediacy of the relationship to site and the spontaneity of island living.
