Proposed House, Coral Gables, Florida, Interior Perspective

In the 1970s and 1980s Chicago architect Stuart Cohen was at the forefront of postmodern investigations of the traditional American house. Around 1980 Cohen’s firm was one of several groups asked by architects Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk to design a house reflecting the vernacular architecture of south Florida for a development in Coral Gables. Inspired by the Latin American roots of much domestic architecture of the Miami area, Cohen designed a house with a triangular stone fireplace, timbered ceiling, and drawings that recall watercolor paintings sold in local markets in Mexico. Although never built, this creative exploration of regional architecture and traditional neighborhood planning ultimately drove Duany and Plater- Zyberk’s acclaimed Seaside development and the school of New Urbanism.