Escape

& Transcend

A retrospective look at Rock House

Project
Rock House
Status
Under Construction
Complete
Location
Coconut Grove, FL
Services
Architecture
Interior Design
Landscape Design

“A symphony of steel and rock.”

-Max Strang

[Transcend] architectural trajectory by merging the ingenuity, competence, and dexterity—into a primary residence for the Max Strang family.

- Iconized through repetitive structural environments.
- Contextualized by dense and riotous tropical landscape.
- Catapulted into fame via movie clips and international publications.

Arguably the firm’s most well-known project, this steel and stone assemblage has become one of South Florida’s most iconic residences. The structurally expressive roof is an undeniable derivation of typologies from the Sarasota School of Architecture era. It’s monumental stone base, however, echoes the powerful forms of equatorial tropical architecture. Nonetheless, the Rock House masterfully blends these disparate influences together to create an unexpected, yet convincing, design solution.

“The structural expressive roof is undeniably derived from ‘Sarasota School’ influences.”

- Max Strang

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The dense and riotous tropical landscape of Coconut Grove affords the home its proper context. Completed in 2004, the home catapulted the firm onto Miami’s architecture scene. Originally designed by Max Strang as a residence for his family, the home most notably appeared in the 2006 film adaptation of the popular television series Miami Vice. Director Michael Mann cast the home as the jungle lair of the drug lord Arcangel de Jesus Montoya with a spectacular placement next to the Iguassu Falls in South America.