The cash and carry house

Last week's New York Times had a very interesting article under the Home section. 

In recent years, cash-strapped Americans are buying land and then bringing in inexpensive or even free houses that would have otherwise been torn down. Many of these houses come from used-house lots, where one can choose from a wide range of styles. 

Warren Davie, the owner of Davie Shoring, a structural mover with a used-house lot outside of New Orleans, said his business increased 50 percent since 2008. Mr. Davie said most buyers are "hard-working people who don't want to go into debt to own a home and are willing to put a little sweat equity into the project".

Depending on a home's size, its condition and how far it has to be moved, the cost can range from $15,000 to $60,000. That's about 40 to 60 percent of what it would cost to build the same structure from scratch. 

Moving a house is, in theory, relatively simple. If it is on a pier-and-beam foundation, structural movers slide steel beams under the ground floor to lift it; if the house is on a concrete slab, the mover uses jackhammer to create tunnels where support beams can be inserted. Then the house is raised on jacks, dollies are maneuvered beneath it, and the beams supporting the house are lowered onto the dollies, which have an integrated hydraulic suspension system that adjusts to the road, so that no part of the house is unduly stressed on the way. 

Once the building arrives at its new location, it is lowered into place, using jacks, and allowed to settle into its new neighborhood. All of which is exciting to watch, for homeowner and mover alike!

Source: New York Times, November 17, 2011

Miami Condos

ICON

In the article “Miami Condos on Upswing,” The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Miami condo glut is coming to an end. The article points to a 539-unit bulk deal at Midtown Miami which recently sold for $110M, or $183 per square foot. This has marked an important milestone in the city's housing recovery.  

The article also states that Icon Brickell, with 1,796 total units, now has fewer than 20 units remaining as of October and is expected to sell out in November. 

Paramount Bay

The Downtown condominium project Paramount Bay is also mentioned. The condo launched sales around mid-October. Around 70 units are either closed or under contract and only 4 of the 11 penthouses remain. Paramount Bay is designed to be a mix of refined city apartment and casual beach house décor, with Lenny Kravitz’s New York-based firm, Kravitz Design Inc., to create the artistic vision for the property. Marquis Residence, a 292-unit luxury condo development located in Downtown Miami which was not mentioned in The Wall Street Journal article, is now over 75% sold.

Needless to say, it very well seems that 2011 will represent the year that the Miami condo glut came to an end. The next couple of years will be filled with new projects, such as the Resorts World Miami, the Citi Centre, and many more. Today is a pivotal moment in Miami's history, a time where the city's image and realty are being fully reshaped. 

Icon Spa

       Paramount Bay view

The High Line

We just came back from a quick weekend in NYC, so, of course, this week's post will talk about the greatest city in the world and one of its latest stunning projects.

The High Line is a public park built on a 1.45-mile-long (2.3 km) elevated rail structure running from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street on Manhattan’s West Side. Previously, the High Line was a freight rail line, in operation from 1934 to 1980. It carried meat to the meatpacking district, agricultural goods to the factories and warehouses of the industrial West Side, and mail to the Post Office.

The area has been taken over by the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation where a non-profit organization ‘Friends of the High Line’ builds and maintains this incredible public space. 

On June 8 2011, Section 2 of the High Line opened to rave reviews and acclaim. As covered in the New York Times, Mayor Michael Bloomberg claimed that shortly before the opening of Section 2 the High Line had already generated $2 billion in private investment in and around the Meatpacking District of New York–nearly eight times the High Line’s original revenue-generation estimates.The mayor pointed to the deluxe apartment buildings whose glass walls press up against the High Line and the hundreds of art galleries, restaurants and boutiques it overlooks. All of that commerce makes up for the $115 million the city has spent on the park and the deals it has made to encourage developers to build along the High Line without blocking out the sun, Mr. Bloomberg said. On top of the 8,000 construction jobs those projects required, the redevelopment has added about 12,000 jobs in the area, the mayor said.

The High Line has become one of the most popular destinations of the city. Tourists and New Yorkers can take in city views, while strolling amid gardens dotted with prairie grasses, wildflowers, and the remains of the rusted tracks—a perfect union of old and new, urban decay and natural beauty.

Portage Bay Floating Home

Portage Bay Floating Home

Seattle, Washington

While reading this month's architecture and design magazine Dwell, we came across a unique and very cool home. It is a remodeled houseboat on Seattle's Portage Bay. We have rarely seen such an out of the ordinary home. This once-plain floating home received a ten years renovation by Ninebark Design Build, interior designer Kim Mankoski, and local builder Dyna Contracting. Among the challenges they faced were comprehensive issues like how to build a home with so much detail on a platform that was constantly moving and shifting, and more particular issues like how to build steel windows that would rust yet remain waterproof. 

The end product is a 1,000-square-foot place complemented by a 400-square-foot rooftop deck that provides ample views of the waterfront and snowcapped peaks of the Cascade Mountains. Ninebark and Dyna tried to salvage as many components as they could from the original structure. On the exterior, they used Cor-ten steel and cedar, both of which will age well in the rainy northwestern climate. The interior has Marmoleum tile floor which feels warm and smooth underfoot in the living/dining/kitchen area of the houseboat. Because its moorage is at the end of the dock, the east-facing wall is completely open to the water, and the house is filled with light even on gray days. 

This is a fantastic retreat, surrounded constantly by natural light and the sound of water.

For those of you interested in Seattle houseboats, there is a very romantic one located on the famous "Sleepless in Seattle" dock. It is on the market for 900,000$. 

 See details below:

The Eames House

The Eames House

203 N. Chautauqua Blvd.

Pacific Palisades, California

We are huge fans of Charles and Ray Eames, known for their innovative furniture, as well as their contributions to architecture, film and graphic design. We actually have several of their pieces in our own home. That is why we would love to make a little trip to LA right now and visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and its show called “California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way,” (runs through March 25). In fact, the Eames House's living room  — all 1,869 items — have been meticulously cataloged and transferred to a replica of the room installed at the museum for the show. To pack up the living room took a week with the aid of two teams, then all the items went into a freezer for five days to kill any possible insect infestations.

Anyways, for all the Eames lovers out there, the Eames House, Case Study House #8, was one of roughly two dozen homes built as part of The Case Study House Program. Begun in the mid-1940s and continuing through the early 1960s, the program was spearheaded by John Entenza, the publisher of Arts and Architecture magazine. The magazine announced that it would be the client for a series of homes designed to express man's life in the modern world. These homes were to be built and furnished using materials and techniques derived from the experiences of the Second World War. Each home would be for a real or hypothetical client taking into consideration their particular housing needs. Charles and Ray proposed that the home they designed would be for a married couple working in design and graphic arts, whose children were no longer living at home. Charles and Ray moved into the House on Christmas Eve, 1949, and lived there for the rest of their lives until their death, his in 1978 and hers 10 years to the day later. They furnished it in a way that mirrored their energetic personalities and curiosity about the world. Strikingly, the 17-foot-high living room was not at all an example of modern design, but instead a comfortable lived-in place. The house is now maintained by the Eames Foundation, set up by Lucia Eames, Mr. Eames’s daughter from his first marriage, and her children. While the family still uses it occasionally, it is a kind of time capsule that shows how the couple lived.

 

Go to http://eamesfoundation.org/ for more information about the house. You can actually hold a wedding or party in the House's meadow, or even spend a night in the Studio where daughter Lucia stayed when she came on visits. That must be a very special experience!

Resorts World Miami

Downtown Miami

“Miami is destined to be one of the most prominent cities in the world” states KT Lim, the CEO of Genting Malaysia Bhd. For this reason, Lim shelled out $236 million to buy 14 acres fronting Biscayne Bay, the Miami Herald Plaza, which has housed the newspaper since 1963. Lim plans to build “Resorts World Miami”, a $3 billion, Arquitectonica-designed project that will include four hotels, two condominium towers, more than 50 restaurants and bars and a luxury retail shopping mall. A casino will be included if the governor and Florida Legislature approve destination resort legislation, Genting said in a statement. It is being billed as one of the largest projects in the United States. 

The size of the resort would be 10 million-square-foot inspired from the region’s coral reefs. The centerpiece is a 3.6-acre outdoor lagoon equivalent to 12 Olympic-size swimming pools and surrounded by natural sand beaches that would allow visitors to literally swim from Biscayne Boulevard to the edge of Biscayne Bay.

Economically, the project will be great for Miami and the state, indeed it will allow the creation of 15,000 direct and indirect construction jobs plus 30,000 permanent positions. Genting expects to be ready to begin site work on the Miami Herald land as early as Spring 2012.

There’s really nothing to compare it to,” said Marc Sarnoff, the Miami city commissioner, who quickly added: “The closest thing is Swire.” Sarnoff was referring to Swire Pacific’s proposed $700 million mixed-use CitiCentre project in Miami’s Brickell area, which we talked about a few weeks ago.  As we noted, it’s billed as a pioneering urban retail destination that will ultimately have 4.6 million square feet of space. Arquitectonica is also the architect on CitiCentre. Swire, which developed the high-end enclave of Brickell Key, is, like Genting, an Asian-based conglomerate.

"Resorts World Miami" is expected to change the scope and landscape of Downtown Miami, bringing jobs & entertainment, as well as increased property values for nearby property owners. “It will accelerate Florida’s evolution as a global destination at the crossroads of the Americas,” said KT Lim. 

Fallingwater

Fallingwater, also known as the Kaufmann House, is one of the most famous houses in America, built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Used as the family weekend home from 1937 to 1963, it was then donated by Kaufmann Jr. to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. In 1964, it was opened to the public as a museum. It is listed among Smithsonian's Life List of 28 places "to visit before you die".

Fallingwater

Bear Run, Pennsylvania

The house doesn't appear to stand on solid ground, but instead stretches out over a 30' waterfall. Wright's idea was for the family to live with the waterfalls, to make them part of their everyday life, and not just to look at them now and then.

While Fallingwater is considered one of Wright’s greatest masterpieces, the site has had numerous structural and engineering problems since it was built. In the 1990s, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, along with Robert Silman Associates, endeavored to restore and stabilize the home. The terraces and cantilevers were reinforced without altering the exterior appearance of the house. The house was also re-waterproofed and repainted, and several structures were rebuilt. By the end of the project, the house, which originally cost $155,000, was restored for 11.5 million dollars. Aside from the chimneys and the small terrace that were rebuilt, the rest of the house is original, including the furnishings.

Little gossip about Fallingwater: Angelina Jolie brought Brad Pitt to the home for a two-hour private tour for his birthday in 2006. Apparently, Pitt wanted to experience Fallingwater ever since he took an architectural history course in college.

Le Sirenuse

Last week we wrote about a summer home which became a national historic landmark. This week we are traveling to Italy where, a long time ago, a summer house was turned into an exquisite hotel.

Le Sirenuse

Positano, Italy

Le Sirenuse was originally built in the 18th century for the Marchese Sersale as a family palazzo. Upon opening its doors to the public in 1951, it quickly became one the most glamorous hotels on the Amalfi Coast. Today Le Sirenuse is furnished with all the comforts of a luxury hotel, while maintaining the atmosphere of a private home. The Sersale clan is in fact still in charge of the business.

The spa

The superb view onto the town and the mountains or onto the sea and the islands of the Sirens immediately stand out, either from the terrace by the pool, the restaurant or the rooms. Inside, the furniture and the antique paintings collected by the family, as well as the plants and flowers are all worthy of mention. Conceived by the famous Italian architect, Gae Aulenti - who is well known for several large-scale museum projects, including Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the Palazzo Grassi in Venice - the hotel’s SPA and fitness centre, designed in a modern style which contrasts with the building’s 18th century Baroque style, offer the perfect scenario and treatments for rejuvenating mind and body.

The swimming pool

This is a very special hotel in a very special little town in the South of Italy. Positano was actually a poor fishing village during the first half of the 20th century. It began to attract tourists in the 1950s, especially after John Steinbeck published his essay about Positano in Harper's Bazaar in May, 1953: "Positano bites deep", Steinbeck wrote. "It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."

Definitely a place to be in 2012!!

Le Sirenuse's view

The Marble House

Last April, while visiting our family in Paris, we decided to spend a couple of days in Versailles. It was our first weekend away from our children so we didn't want to go too far from where we were, and we mostly wanted to be in a beautiful and relaxing environment. We stayed at the Trianon Palace, a modern hotel, yet true to its past, a few minutes away from the magnificent Chateau de Versailles. We spent the first day visiting the Chateau, the gardens and Marie Antoinette's retreat. We had no words to describe the Palace and felt quite out of place with our shorts and t-shirts. We felt we were not respecting the beauty of the surroundings: "They should only allow people with long dresses and suits", we joked. Anyways, when back in the U.S., we were curious to know if anyone has ever built a house or a building inspired by the Chateau de Versailles. And we found it:

The Marble House

Newport, Rhode Island

Entrance

Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. It is considered one of the finest and most extravagant summer "cottages" built in Newport.

Mr. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the family's fortune in steamships and the New York Central Railroad. His older brother was Cornelius II, who built The Breakers, which also has parts of it modeled after Palace Versailles. Alva Vanderbilt was a leading hostess in Newport society, and envisioned Marble House as her "temple to the arts" in America.

Dining Room

The house was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles, Marie Antoinette's retreat. The cost of the house was reported in contemporary press accounts to be $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble. Upon its completion, Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present.

The Vanderbilts divorced in 1895 and Alva married Oliver H.P. Belmont, moving down the street to Belcourt. After his death, she reopened Marble House, and had a Chinese Tea House built on the seaside cliffs, where she hosted rallies for women's right to vote. 

She sold the house to Frederick H. Prince in 1932. The Preservation Society acquired the house in 1963 from the Prince estate.   In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The ballroom

Gigantic Mall Coming to Downtown Miami: Brickell CitiCentre

A massive new mega mall is planned for downtown Miami. Brickell CitiCentre consisting of more than five towers will rise from the land bordered by Brickell on the East, Southwest 1st Ave. to the west and between Southwest 8th and Southwest 6th St.

The complex will be bigger than the Dolphin Mall's 1.4 million square feet of retail space, bigger that Sawgrass Mills Mall -- in fact about double the size of Sawgrass -- at 4 million square feet.

"This is the biggest private work project in the U.S. this year", said Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff. "It's going to bring Miami into the epicenter of retail shopping and that includes Coral Gables and even Aventura."

The project will create 1,700 construction jobs every year for the four years it will take to complete construction. When it's finished there will be 3,800 permanent full time jobs.

The CityCentre will house not only retail shopping but office space, apartments or condos, and a hotel.

"This is the biggest thing to happen in Miami in about 12 years," Sarnoff said. 

Model of the project

Malibu Dream Home: The Segel Residence

22426 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA

The Segel Residence

A few years ago, while walking on Malibu beach, we discovered a very special house, maybe one of the most interesting homes we have ever seen. We were curious to know who was leaving there and thought of the great life these people must have, waking up every day facing the Pacific ocean and being able to walk on the beach any time of the day. "These people" were actually Courtney Cox and David Arquette. And the special house was designed by a pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright. After doing some research to learn more about it, this is what we found: 

The Segel Residence, sold by Courtney Cox and David Arquette in 2007 to Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt for 33.5 Million dollars (it is believed Cox and Arquette originally purchased the home for $10 million in 2001), is a stunning home built in 1979 by John Lautner, a famed architect who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright. It is on Carbon Beach, and is considered one of the most beautiful homes on the Malibu coastline. The four-bedroom, 5,500 square foot house has ocean views from almost every room and sits on a double lot with 80 feet of beach frontage.

If you are in the neighborhood, we strongly recommend that you stop by Paradise Cove for brunch or lunch and then start a digestive walk  on the beach where you'll be able to see this beautiful house as well as many others!

The living room

Dream Home Resort - Indian Creek - Miami Beach

Price: 60,000,000$

It has been very hard to find something as inspiring as Burano with its small but  unique homes, so for this week's posting we decided to look for the complete opposite - a BIG house,  an over the top residence, literally a dream home by its location, views and price:

3 Indian Creek Drive, Miami Beach

Asking price: $60,000,000

Located on the exclusive island of Indian Creek, this is the most expensive home in Miami history. Features include: 10 bedrooms, 5 kitchens, private beach with sand imported from the Bahamas, wine cellar secured by fingerprint key pad, chromotherapy spa and massage room.

As the developer says in the ABC news video below, more than selling a house, you are selling a "feeling".

Burano - Phillippe Starck's Inspiration Haven

 Burano is a charming little island in the Venetian Lagoon known for its lacework but also for its small colorful houses. A couple of months ago we spent a lovely day on the island, enjoying an exquisite lunch - 3 hour long!!! - at Il Gatto Nero, followed by a much needed walk through the canals, little bridges, and brightly colored houses. During our walk we discovered that designer Philippe Starck owns four houses on the island, a bigger one for him and his family (the redish/coral one in the pictures, about 3,800 sq.ft or 400 sq.m), and three smaller ones for his guests.

Philippe Starck Primary Residence

I guess the colorful scenery and the magical atmosphere make it the ideal place to relax and get inspired for an artist such as Starck. We actually thought of buying one ourselves, but ah too far from Miami. Well maybe one day :-)
For those of you interested, the small blue house below is about 800 Sq.ft (75 sq.m) on 3 levels and cost between 250,000 and 275,000 Euros ($355,000 - $390,000). Venice Airport is 10 minutes away by speed boat.

Il Gatto Nero - Crab and Pomodoro Salad