Christian Wassmann’s Sun Path House In Miami
- Words
- Brit Seaton
The New York-based architecture studio of Christian Wassmann has renovated a 1930s bungalow in Miami Beach, presenting a new structure that engages in a visual dialogue with the sun.
Wassmann’s ‘Sun Path House’ is constructed over a three-storey extension. The renovation includes a floating volume woven with lush vegetation, a large new kitchen and dining area, and a rooftop solarium. A curved wall has been built to face north, rotated 11.25 degrees around the axis of a spiral staircase. This feature, the architect explains, is “simultaneously structural, functional, and sculptural,” and “serves as the spine of the project.” The precision taken to capture this exact curvature enables the residence to follow the summer solstice sun path. From the point of the solarium, the wall lines up with the sun’s trace and reflects its rays onto the deck. It also acts as a windbreaker, offering a place of solitude that Wassmann reflects is “free of the incursions of everyday life.”
All images © Lukas Wassmann, Todd Eberle and Casey Kelbaugh