A house in Florida creates a manifesto for suburban tropical architecture

House in a Garden is set on a plot in the suburbs of Miami, in Coconut Grove, amidst lush vegetation. Here, Atelier Mey engages with the design of a house that seeks to restore not only recognizable features to tropical architecture but, through a contemporary language, finds harmony with the local environment and climate. On the one hand, the house impresses with its finish: a sequence of curved, micro-perforated sheet metal panels that define the project's main image. On the other hand, it conceals numerous low-tech design choices aimed at reducing energy consumption and ensuring a lifestyle typical of the area.

As  the designers explained to Domus, the architecture is defined by a few essential elements. The first is the overhanging roof, where a semicircle generates an open courtyard, allowing people to live outdoors while remaining sheltered, even during heavy rains. 
“The ‘U’ courtyard acknowledges the presence of an existing avocado tree; at the same time, the plan is organized as an environmental response to the context”.

Inside the house, high ceilings and the presence of large openings ensure natural cooling through cross-ventilation, reducing energy consumption for air conditioning. Together, these elements make architecture a breathing organism in continuous exchange with its environment. Moreover, The overhang and the micro-perforated metal sheet cladding system significantly increase shading for the CLT structure, protecting it from Florida's intense sun and working on the long-term life of the structure.
This underlines the main scope of the architects: “The idea is to use climate in making the architecture. Form, climate, energy, materiality. All is about the place, and the project becomes a challenge and a case study for subtropical architectures”.

House in a Garden is not just a wooden structure that minimizes material consumption by standardizing the materials used. It is a manifesto house showing how tropical architectural features can inform a contemporary project.
A climatic house that breathes, shades, and where the experience of space connects vegetation, climate, materials, and wellbeing.