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The Floating Office

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Until August 24, 1992, Shuster Design Associates was operated from a plush, twenty five hundred square-foot houseboat moored at Marina Bay in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was the most tranquil yet stimulating work environment I had ever seen, and I never would have left it if it hadn't been for Hurricane Andrew.

I am originally from Philadelphia and had never lived anywhere near water. When I moved to Florida in 1980, 1 naturally fell in love with the weather, the scenery, the lush landscape. I said right then and there my office had to be on the water. Next, I had to locate the proper houseboat for my needs, and this was difficult because houseboats aren't that plentiful and most of the ones that do exist are just boxes on a barge. I wanted something much more architecturally unique, something I could really sink my teeth into.

I employed a gal who specialized in houseboat sales and we flew all over the state, from Tampa to Key West. We finally found one moored at the Diplomat Hotel in Hallandale, Florida. It was fifteen years old and built by Surfside Six, probably the best houseboat builder in the country. Why, they guaranteed the hull of the boat for one hundred years.

It took five and a half days to tug her from Hallandale to Ft. Lauderdale, and I had to change her from a three and a half bath residential structure to an open office space for some seven employees, but it was the best decision I ever made. The boat was extremely dark, so we enlarged all the windows and put in two eight-foot skylights.

We installed a new staircase to the second floor, providing a much cleaner line than the existing one. To add drama to that structure, we installed a two-story piece of plate glass extending above and below that staircase.

The beauty of working on a structure like that is that there are no codes as to what you can and can't do - no electrical codes, no permits that have to be pulled - because it is not considered real property. For example, I probably could not have used glass in that way, had this office been on land. The look I was after was light and white and clean, to exemplify the type of work we do and also to serve as a good backdrop for art.

To show commercial clients how they could maximize smaller office space we installed two offices back-to-back, with a computer area and illuminating shelves in each, in a total space of nine-feet by twelve-feet.

We used a greater variety of materials than we might usually use in a space this size, because in our own office we like to show clients the abilities of our various suppliers. Still, I have a predominantly less-is-more approach to design so the overall look was still clean. It was in fact a twenty four hour a day showcase, because when people would come to a meeting here, they would never want to leave. And, when prospective clients would come aboard, I wouldn't even have time to bring out my portfolio before they would be sold. So, it was a great sales tool as well as a great personal pleasure.

However, it all ended that day in August '92 when the hurricane-infuriated elements twisted her over on her side, sinking her until not one inch remained above water.

Nothing was salvageable, and I, of course, felt devastated - along with thousands of other poor souls in Florida at that time. Since then, we have established beautiful offices a short distance away and have opened a showroom featuring accessories from Brazil.

This time, however, both are on land.

Outside my office, the deck provided a much appreciated ambience for meetings and informal presentations.

On the first floor, we gave the drafting area definition by raising the level of its floor area and capping its low partitions with bullnose edged oak.

"It was in fact a twenty-four-hour-a-day showcase, because when people would come to a meeting here they would never want to leave."

LOUIS SHUSTER