Dicerandra
Hicoria, FL ( Archbold Biological Station )
Architecture, Interior design
Architecture, Interior design
The design of this home, delicately placed in some of the rarest Florida scrub habitat, is driven by the ecosystem it watches over and stewards. Adjacent to Archbold Biological Station, 70 acres of former citrus groves will be restored to their original prehistoric state. Studio Shell worked in partnership with the team tasked with restoring this habitat. The owner, FWC, and the Archbold Research team helped us gather information on the sites soil, wind, and topography and to imagine the future micro-ecosystems that would make up the future site.
The acreage and homesite, willed to the biological station, are to be in direct communion with the spirit of preservation and ecological study. The sandy rolling hills are a fire driven ecosystem. Over millennia, the rising and receding seas have exposed and covered much of the Florida Peninsula, creating The Florida Ridge. Originally covered with a mosaic of scrub, flatwoods, wetlands, and lakes, The Florida Ridge is a landscape sculpted by the sea. The largest of these ridges is the Lake Wales Ridge, long recognized as a major geomorphological feature of peninsular Florida. Locally known as the “The Ridge,” it is a relict of a shoreline and beach dune system dating millions of years ago. These elements of sand, fire, wind and water inform everything about the home's design.
The home, named for a rare and endemic scrub mint, is to serve as a refuge from the harsh desert-like scrub landscape and at the same time foster a rich relationship between the inhabitants and the land as it dissolves into its environs. It is positioned to open towards a long gentle slope towards archbold, maximizing its view and optimizing its orientation based on wind patterns. The home is elongated, stretched out, to take full advantage of the site where every room opens towards the scrub habitat. The formal living room acts as a bridge between the guest wing and the rest of the home. Floating above the scrub, the bridge allows for a view directly all the way through the home. The back side of the home, the primary approach, is more guarded, solid – except for the bridge. Like a wind break on the ancient sand dune this house is built on, the sand gathers on the windward side of the home, delivering visitors seamlessly to the threshold, and falls away on the leeward side, leaving the house floating above the sand; echoing the ancient dunes.
It is the client’s dream that in his lifetime scrub jays and gopher tortoises will once again call this home.
The acreage and homesite, willed to the biological station, are to be in direct communion with the spirit of preservation and ecological study. The sandy rolling hills are a fire driven ecosystem. Over millennia, the rising and receding seas have exposed and covered much of the Florida Peninsula, creating The Florida Ridge. Originally covered with a mosaic of scrub, flatwoods, wetlands, and lakes, The Florida Ridge is a landscape sculpted by the sea. The largest of these ridges is the Lake Wales Ridge, long recognized as a major geomorphological feature of peninsular Florida. Locally known as the “The Ridge,” it is a relict of a shoreline and beach dune system dating millions of years ago. These elements of sand, fire, wind and water inform everything about the home's design.
The home, named for a rare and endemic scrub mint, is to serve as a refuge from the harsh desert-like scrub landscape and at the same time foster a rich relationship between the inhabitants and the land as it dissolves into its environs. It is positioned to open towards a long gentle slope towards archbold, maximizing its view and optimizing its orientation based on wind patterns. The home is elongated, stretched out, to take full advantage of the site where every room opens towards the scrub habitat. The formal living room acts as a bridge between the guest wing and the rest of the home. Floating above the scrub, the bridge allows for a view directly all the way through the home. The back side of the home, the primary approach, is more guarded, solid – except for the bridge. Like a wind break on the ancient sand dune this house is built on, the sand gathers on the windward side of the home, delivering visitors seamlessly to the threshold, and falls away on the leeward side, leaving the house floating above the sand; echoing the ancient dunes.
It is the client’s dream that in his lifetime scrub jays and gopher tortoises will once again call this home.