Books: Florida Architecture 15th Annual Edition

Brazilian Personification at Sailfish Point

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Barry Sugerman waterfront homes are wonderfully distinguishable. Elements include strong architectural exteriors, see-through views upon entry, open-space floor plans and garages that are totally secret. After all, a garage door at an entry is anathema to architects. But in this home, the garage door is the entry feature, and rooms are self-contained. Even the front doorway is atypically hidden and the entry view doesn't sweep onto a waterfront panorama. "This is one of the few homes where the owner took such a strong position that it directed the way I pushed the pencil," says architect Sugerman.

The same held true for interior designer Louis Shuster and landscape architect Walter Taft Bradshaw. But the talented design team welcomed the input from their cosmopolitan Brazilian clients. Their impeccable taste and the husband's expertise in building and landscaping was downright inspirational.

"We'd arrive here in the morning after a flight from Brazil and we'd be meeting far into the night," says Sugerman. "He had infinite energy and non-stop enthusiasm. Everyone else was dropping, and he was still going strong."

His face-to-face involvement was a new twist for the design team, whose vacation home clients ordinarily establish their requirements, make several on-site visits, communicate telephonically, and move in when the house is complete.

But not this couple. "These clients flew in from South America at the drop of a hat," says interior designer Louis Shuster. "They'd bring colors fabrics, items to use in the house. They even flew me to their home to learn their lifestyle."

The result is a home that is a personification of the owners. Abundant gardens linked to the living spaces bear witness to this.

So do the lagoon-like swimming pool and tropical foliage reminiscent of their homeland. The same for earth tones that harken to their passion for the environment. And certainly the unconventional placement of the garage.

"I always point out features to my clients that I don't think are in their best interests, like a garage in front," says Sugerman. "But if that's not what they want, I give them what they want. They're the ones who will he living in the home."

So when it came to the garage, Sugerman gave them copper sheathed acid-washed, turquoise doors. Then landscape architects Walter Taft Bradshaw and Joe Gordon handsomely embellished them with a series of horizontal planters with the drip line on top.

As a result, when the doors tilt up, the lush green vegetation remains intact. "My client had seen this 'vegetated door' idea in Brazil, with attached orchids and bromeliads." says Bradshaw "He was very conscious about a tropical look, and very definitive about what he liked and didn't like. I had never landscaped a garage door before, so it was quite a feat."

Small wonder that the designers clearly echoed the wishes of the clients even when they were unorthodox. When Shuster visited both their primary home in Sao Paulo and their Brazilian beach house, he gleaned the essence of their lives. First-hand he saw how meals were served to the family of eight, what size chairs they liked, the different collections they valued and which local artists and artisans they admired.

Expansive living room seating for the large family is anchored by an antique kilim rug, while a similar rug was transformed into fringed pillows. Chinese antique horses share the spotlight with family photos.

"They'd bring colors fabrics, items to use in the house. They even flew me to their home to learn their lifestyle."

LOUIS SHUSTER

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