AN UNDERSTANDING

Gonzalez was the obvious choice to design it, Cohen says.

``He understood exactly what we wanted from the first time we spoke. The house is very contemporary but not cold. There is a pool on the deck upstairs that cascades into the main swimming pool downstairs, a rooftop that is covered in grass, a lot of playing with light and space.'''

So what kind of person does the architect think will be drawn to this house? Besides a very rich one, that is.

''I think it will have a certain spirit that is unique, a certain feel. I don't know if I can capture that in words, but the right person will sense it,'' says Gonzalez, 45, the divorced father of two daughters ages 20 and 17.

``The use of water throughout will have a very soothing effect. But we had to be very careful in terms of proportion. It is appropriate for this house to have a grand quality, but at the same time it had to feel very humane.''

You might expect the house to feel over the top. And, sure, there are two kitchens, a spa, gym, library, wine cellar, state-of-the-art panic room, four bedrooms in the main pavilion, two in the guest pavilion and another three in the maids' quarters above the garage.

But somehow, the project doesn't seem ostentatious. Then again, its architect is a low-key guy. Since 2000, he has lived in a ''small, two-bedroom Art Deco apartment on the Beach that I hadn't finished renovating.'' He is just getting to the last of it, a bathroom.

Asked to characterize his work, Gonzalez describes an orange-lit room at the Museum of Modern Art's P.S. 1 exhibit space for which artist James Turrell designed a rectangular ceiling opening so that when you look up, you see an intensely blue sky.

''You can't tell if it's really the sky or a strange blue plane that you're seeing,'' he says. ``You want to touch it but you can't.

``I am interested in creating experiences like that. Ethereal, a little difficult to describe, light, not only in terms of brightness but also airy. Something where you can't pinpoint where the limits are.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@