A retrospective look at the Ballast Trail Residence
- Max Strang
[Liberate] the trademark culture of the Florida Keys while adapting to ecological and physical environments.
- Blended by vernacular elements and imaginative expressions.
- Cladded upon with the same fossilized coral reef that underpins the island.
- Commingled between glass bridges and two spread wings.
Designed as a beach house in the Florida Keys, the Ballast Trail Residence defies an easy description. Strang has subtly blended vernacular elements such as pitched metal roofs and wood porches with modern elements such as glass bridges and stark stone walls to manifest a distinct architectural vision. The Ballast Trail Residence imaginatively expresses this fusion of the old and the new. In fact, the design goes beyond a simple response to the climate and site. It goes further by offering an evolutionary design which creatively celebrates the cultural, ecological and physical environment of The Florida Keys.
–Architectural Digest
Located on the shores of Key Largo, the house is positioned where a tropical hardwood hammock meets the Atlantic Ocean. The bedrock of the island is a fossilized coral reef, which also serves as the primary cladding material for the home. Immense walls of Florida ‘keystone’ become the organizing elements of the overall design. An entry breezeway, punctuated with a louvered-glass bridge, separates the home’s two distinctive wings.
[STRANG] Design
[STRANG] Design
Maria Ascoli, Matthew Cohen, Nicole Ferrarini, Alexandra Mangimelli, Jason Adams, Max Strang
L'Aterlier Isabelle Periberre
Naturalficial
Native Construction
Claudio Manzoni
AIA Florida Honor Award of Excellence (2017)
AIA Miami Merit Award of Excellence for Residential Architecture (2017)
[STRANG] Design
[STRANG] Design
Maria Ascoli, Matthew Cohen, Nicole Ferrarini, Alexandra Mangimelli, Jason Adams, Max Strang
L'Aterlier Isabelle Periberre
Naturalficial
Native Construction
Claudio Manzoni
AIA Florida Honor Award of Excellence (2017)
AIA Miami Merit Award of Excellence for Residential Architecture (2017)