American architectural office Den Architecture has completed the Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation in Pinecrest FL.
Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation, sketch courtesy Den Architecture
The Kitchen:
Located in a heavily vegetated residential neighborhood southwest of Miami, this kitchen remodel required a radical departure from the existing layout of the house. Formerly enclosed by full-height cabinets and walls, the proposed design expands the spatial relationship of the interior spaces. All walls separating the kitchen from the rest of the house were demolished, creating a continuous circulation flow through the newly designed area, connecting dining and family rooms in the process.
Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation, image courtesy Den Architecture
The kitchen is designed after one of the tropical fruits that abound in the neighborhood: the coconut. With its hard dark outer skin and light fragile core, the fruit was used as a metaphor and departure point for the design. The two high-gloss white enclosures and their matching interior workings contrast with the rich darker tones of the surrounding wood cabinets, framing and showcasing the main activity areas within the kitchen (cleaning, preparing, washing, cooking, and eating). Off at the end, adjacent to the family room, a matching white breakfast table and corresponding light fixture hood anchor the space.
Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation, image courtesy Den Architecture
Cabinets were specified with FSC-certified plywood, containing domestic hardwood veneers. The white areas of the kitchen, designed exclusively to acommodate tasks that require concentration, make use of their light color and high reflectivity to bounce natural light from the adjacent windows. Light fixtures, particularly in the aforementioned task areas, are indirect LED strip-lights that utilize a fraction of the electricity when compared to standard lamps. Countertops and backsplashes are only ½” thick, which saves half the amount of material that would otherwise be used in standard tops. The selected fixtures and appliances are among the most efficient in the industry, when comparing electricity and water usage.
Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation, image courtesy Den Architecture
The Guest Bathroom:
This commission involved the renovation of a transitional multi-purpose bathroom, connecting a residential pool area with a single family home. The challenge was to create a space that served both purposes that is neither a formal guest bath nor a pool shower room. In addition, the clients requested that the bathroom serve as a potential childrens bath, given their desire to start a family. The end result attempts to combine all requirements in a playful balance of formal compositions and casual materials.
The proposed design focuses on a bi-partite solution involving a combination of forms and carefully selected finishes that all stem from a pool environment. White rectilinear volumes and floating objects cantilever from the walls much like diving boards. The shower niche located at the entrance from the pool, also in white, welcomes guests returning from a long day of sunbathing and swimming. The acqua-colored glass mosaic tiles focus attention on the main wall, mimmicking the color of water; while the overall white pallette alludes to the hygienic necessities of an aquatic environment.
From a sustainable design perspective, the space was designed using factory-built “off-the-shelf” components such as cabinets and shelves, that are very flexible and re-usable in the future. This avoids the need for costly custom wood work that involves a larger carbon footprint. The floor, made of local Caribbean coral stone, is a refined version of the material used for the pool deck outside. The predominantly light-colored material pallette facilitates the use of daylighting given its high reflectivity.
Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation, image courtesy Den Architecture
The Master Bathroom:
Clients from the South American region of Patagonia commissioned a master bathroom remodel that would balance the ruggedness of their origins with the sophistication of urban life in the USA. A tight budget necessitated that most work would be produced from a combination of pre-fabricated components purchased at local retail stores. Locations of plumbing fixtures had to remain to reduce labor costs, as well as a large existing mirror, which was eventually re-purposed to adapt to the proposed design.
As a starting point, the Clients selected a mosaic slate that recalled the rock formations and color variations of the Andes mountains in South America. The horizontal movement and layering of colors found therein provided the inspiration for the proposed master bathroom design. A series of horizontal elements combining solids and voids incorporate mirrors, cabinets, and shelves. Colors such as accorn-brown and off-white, taken from the selected slate, provide the requested rustic appeal; offset with the refined chrome accents in the fixtures, accessories, and lighting. In order to create the spatial perception of a larger room, the shower was integrally designed with the rest of the space, using the same floor material and a transparent frameless shower enclosure.
The end result is an efficiently designed master bathroom using pre-fabricated components from local stores.The reclaimed mirror was re-used and adapted to the design, while the remaining materials were obtained from local sources. The use of a transparent glass shower enclosure allows the use of natural daylight throughout, reducing electricity consumption for lighting purposes during the day.
Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation, image courtesy Den Architecture
+ Project credits / data
Project: Salvade-Serenelli Residence Renovation
Location: 7175 SW 119th Street, Pinecrest FL 33156, USA
Budget: $120,000
Square Footage: Kitchen (525 SF), Guest Bath (80 SF), Master (180 SF)
Type: Interior
Designer: Den Architecture | http://www.den-arc.com/
Client: Marcelo Salvade and Georgina Serenelli
What makes this project unique?: Practical minimalism in a tropical setting
Materials: marble,stone, solid surface, hardwood, etc.
Innovative use of space: Blending of contiguous spaces
+ About Den Architecture
Den is an independent architecture firm dedicated to environmentally-conscious design. Den’s research-based design process produces buildings that adapt to local climate, culture and resources. Den is a carbon neutral office committed to the prudent stewardship of our planet’s resources.
Since architecture is responsible for more than 40% of the green house gases in the atmosphere, Den’s actively trying to curtail our profession’s negative impact on the planet. Den not only produce green buildings, Den implement our own strategies to reduce our carbon footprint. Den is green.
+ All images and drawings courtesy Den Architecture
