W.R. Healy Guest House
by: Paul Rudolph + Ralph Twitchell
in: Sarasota, Florida, USA
Check out this small residential structure from 1950… it’s so Semper! The roof gets its form from flexible insulation boards affixed to steel insulation straps that are connected to the enclosure. It’s protected from rain by an applied vinyl compound that was originally developed and used by the military to weatherproof ship parts. The whole house is elevated on a platform, so not to touch the site or neighboring waterway. We checked google earth and it’s still standing (at least it was in 2011). With a new coat of paint, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it in a contemporary design publication.
Mound, hearth, enclosure, roof, and column. The way we see it, Gottfried Semper and scholars already figured out what makes honest tectonic form. We're looking for the element that satisfies our primitive urge to value architecture that's good.
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