Freeze Frame

A closer look at the hottest solutions from November

Staff -- Interior Design, 11/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

Performing for Chayanne

The profuse light of Miami Beach works miracles with simple materials. At the 8,000-square-foot waterfront house that Venezuelan architect Luis Pons built for Latin pop sensation Chayanne and his family, creatively applied stone, concrete, wood, metal, and glass all glimmer in the Florida sun. Pons covered exterior and interior walls with thin strips of travertine laid horizontally, like wood—a treatment that contrasts with the teak, mahogany, Brazilian pine, copper, steel, and granite seen throughout the downstairs public spaces and four upstairs bedrooms.

A truly indoor-outdoor structure, the house incorporates another 3,900 square feet in terraces: at ground level, upstairs, and on the roof. The latter, a vast flat expanse, is ideal for sunning, entertaining, or just enjoying the Biscayne Bay views. "Miami Rhapsody," page 134. —B.D.

Rockwell's Encore

To vamp up the Murano Grande, a luxury condominium in Miami Beach, the Rockwell Group introduced an oval staircase that sweeps through the center of the triple-height lobby, connecting it to the mezzanine. The staircase curves around a column of double-layered backlit sheer polyester draping 28 feet from a recessed lighting cove to the limestone floor below. Burnt-orange Venetian plaster surfaces the balustrades and continues along the mezzanine, complementing the terrazzo tile that clads nearby columns.

As inspiration for the design, principal David Rockwell cites Fiddler on the Roof—the first Broadway musical he ever attended, at the tender age of 11. The show features a song with the lyrics "one long staircase…leading nowhere, just for show." The perfect dramatic entrance—or exit. "Glamour on a Grand Scale," page 101. —M.B.