Designed in 1991 by Samuel Mockbee and Coleman Coker from Mockbee/Coker Architects, this 1,100 square foot bungalow was originally called the Kennedy House but is now called “Birdie’s”. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I have noticed this house on previous trips to Seaside but had never bothered to take photos or look up the architects (that’s one side effect to having a blog – your thoughts are forced into action). So this year I made a little extra time for myself to take some good (as good as I am capable of producing) photographs along with a little research so I could talk about some of these buildings.
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The original clients had requested a “weekend fishing shack” except the town of Seaside has a fairly stringent set of design ordinances that govern, among other things, exterior materials. The June 2004 issue of Architectural Record, in an essay by Andrea Oppenheimer Dean, Samuel Mockbee had described his architecture as contemporary Modernism grounded in Southern culture and drew inspiration from such vernacular sources as overhanging galvanized roofs, rusting metal trailers, dogtrot forms, and porches. “I’m drawn to anything that has a quirkiness to it, a mystery to it,” Mockbee said. His designs tended toward asymmetry and idiosyncrasy…” (source)
If you are familiar with the work Samuel Mockbee developed with the Rural Studio program at Auburn, you can see the early application of his design philosophy here (because this house predates the creation of the Rural Studio in 1993 by two years). I feEl like I am giving the short shrift to Coleman Coker since his name is on this project too – they were in practice together from 1983 till 2000.
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Here I am once again stalking the perimeter and lurking in windows … I suppose it’s an occupational hazard. Despite the obvious invasion of privacy involved with taking pictures and publishing them on the internet for 12.7 billion readers, I make it a rule not walk onto the property and if I see someone, I’ll introduce myself, tell them who I am, what I am doing, and ask for their permission. Luckily, nobody has ever told me no … I suppose I have an honest face (or a pathetic one). This site is more accessible than most since the house is located on the corner – but it was still difficult to get a clear view through all the vegetation surrounding the building.
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This is the screened porch that runs along most of the house that faces the public right of way. Screened porches are by no means uncommon at Seaside but this is the only one I’ve seen that had this much fun with the framing. One thing that this pattern does is that it forces you to reinterpret the way the space is enclosed and as a result, the space itself. Many screened in porches are throw-away spaces from how the people outside looking in see them. By creating a random and asymmetrical pattern, the screen wall becomes a feature element, adding substantial visual interest to the street elevation.
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The picture above shows a detail that over the next few years appears regularly in Mockbee’s work – the peeling back of the roof to expose the structure beneath. While the gesture may seem minor, it changes the scale and texture of the elements – breaking down the mass of the screened porch and presenting it as an assembly of componants.
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Since outdoor showers are present at almost all Seaside houses, I had to include a shot of the shower above. Simple, practical and effective – three desirable descriptors for any contemporary modernist.
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This is the rear end of the house and the area that was modified from the original design. The square windows above were not part of the original design and the sleeping porch on the second floor level was in this location. If you care to look at the second floor plan drawing below at #10, you can see the location of the sleeping porch. Looking further down, you can also see the original elevation at this end by looking at the North Elevation drawing.
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I discovered that this house was reviewed in a book I have in my architectural library – ‘The New American Cottage‘ which is where the following drawings were collected. I have provided a link towards the bottom for the book if you’re interested in having your own copy. In the 20 years since this house was originally built, little has changed. At some point, the screened sleeping porch (#10 in the plan below) was enclosed but other than that … even the paint is the same color as it was originally.
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“The New American Cottage”
written by James Trulove and Il Kim
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This is another great little project I found in Seaside – one of my favorites to accompany the Seaside Chapel by Merrill and Pastor Architects. If you find yourself in the Florida panhandle – and even if you don’t – Seaside if a destination worth visiting.
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