The Transparent House
Pensacola, Fla.
Krueck & Sexton Architects

Lyrical Wave-like Form Reflects Water and Sky

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above.

This 16,000-square-foot house, designed for a couple with four children, is located on the Gulf coast of the Florida Panhandle. Sited on a barrier island facing Santa Rosa Sound, the 600-ft long by 150-ft wide site is covered with white sand that possesses the consistency and color of sugar. The client desired a house as transparent as possible, with minimal visual disruption and clutter, which would take maximum advantage of its spectacular setting and the changing conditions of water and sky.

Envisioned as a clean, quiet machine, the house is nestled among existing coastal vegetation with minimal impact on the site. Its thin, wave-like form responds to pressures exerted by the curving edges of the shoreline and sand dunes along the rear of the site. This lyrical bending of the volume allows the house to gather vistas from multiple viewpoints, reinforcing the dialogue between house and nature.

The first level of the house is a cantilevered concrete and stainless structure that is elevated twelve feet on sculpted piers. This strategy visually lightens the mass, while providing expansive views of the sound and protection from hurricane wave surges. A steel structure springs from the concrete table of the first level and supports five bedrooms on the second level and a roof deck above.

An undulating two-story north-facing wall is connected to curved steel trusses that support the wall and second floor. Three-by-nine-foot insulated glass panels are supported by six stainless steel pins at the glass joints. Metal-paneled rain screen wall and aluminum louvers on the south side of the house control solar heat gain and brightness.

Formal name of building:
The Transparent House

Location:
Pensacola, Florida

Architect's firm:
Krueck & Sexton Architects
221 West Erie
Chicago Ill 60610
312.787.0056 tel
312.787.8415 fax
www.ksarch.com

Design Team:
Ronald Krueck, FAIA Design Principal
Mark Sexton, AIA Project Principal
Tim Tracey Project Architect
Brian Frey
Thomas Jacobs
Peter Johonnknecht
Matthew Johnson
Paras Kiravanich
Jochen Zeigler

Consultant Team:
Structural: Tylk Gustafson, Chicago Illinois.
MEP: Lehman Design Consultants, Chicago Illinois.
Lighting: Schuler & Shook, Chicago Illinois.
Acoustical: Kirkegaard & Associates, Chicago Illinois.
Curtain Wall: ASI Design, Marina Del Rey, California.
Geo-Technical: Larry Jacobs & Associates, Pensacola, Florida.

Contractor:
Terhaar & Cronley, Pensacola, Florida.

Model Photographer:
Mariusz Mizera, Chicago Illinois.