An Architectural Showpiece Redefines the Florida Beach Estate
This remarkable LEED-certified property, a new build, sprawls literally coast-to-coast, with the Atlantic on one side and the Intracoastal (with an enviable 100-foot dock) on the other. Architect Scott Hughes of Hughes Umbanhowar set to work on capturing the sea views that come with the costliest home he’s ever created. The panoramas occur in nearly every room, with the living area featuring clerestory windows as well.
A true modernist, Hughes regards the house, which is vast at more than 17,630 square feet, as the culmination of his firm’s latest phase: the use of frames. “The projects we’ve been doing for the last two and a half years have been waterfront properties with very focused views,” he explains, “so here we break down the scale of the house while at the same time creating a full window wall protected from the Florida sun. This became a vocabulary tool for the second floor.”
Indeed, most if not all of the living happens on the second floor, above the dune height—it’s actually a guest bedroom that’s contained in the frame that cantilevers over the garage. In order to attract people to the second floor from the driveway and garage, Hughes Umbanhowar came up with a fluid solution: a spectacular waterfall feature that allows people to appear to emerge from water on three sides as they climb the stairs to the front door.
The rich look of the façade owes to Hughes’ use of Resysta, a durable alternative to teak, while indoor fixtures are top-notch, with Toto and Kohler glistening in the bathrooms and Dornbracht in the kitchens. In terms of architectural moments other than the dramatic frames, Hughes points to the glassed-in, drum-like room that rises from the house. He envisions an entrepreneur or successful athlete owner using the space as an office, which boasts a water view from every vantage point.
Dana Koch, a Corcoran Palm Beach sales associate, reinforces the home’s unique dual-coast position: “It’s extremely rare to find an ocean-to-Intracoastal property on Jupiter Island, especially brand-new construction,” he says. “The home sits directly on the ocean, which is the ‘gold standard,’ and with your boat in your front yard, you can have the best of both worlds!”
Priced at $29.9 million, 609 South Beach Road is represented by Corcoran agents Dana Koch and Paulette Koch.
