Tosca is a 5000 SF Dining establishment on South Beach.  This project involved an exterior garden, dining courtyard and a 500 SF addition to an existing 2000 SF restaurant, The design draws inspiration from Florida's European roots by incorporating a Mediterranean garden that includes a romantic meandering path through a very lush and native vegetation, a fountain inspired by il ponte vecchio in Florence, and various interactive and playful art pieces that are hidden in the garden.  Tosca represents a story of innocent romance, a voyage through a path in a romantic garden that culminates at the most intimate, private and romantic table in the entire space, the VIP table seen below.  The style and decor also drew inspiration from jet setting Europe and a lifestyle that was prevalent in the 50's where movies such as "La Dolce Vita' were created and opulence became a lifestyle for many.

The Liendo residence involved an existing structure that was essentially rendered unusable by the client.  The client was interested in more house for him and his family.  One challenge was working with the existing structure, which was approximately 2000 S.F. and none of which was useful for the client.  A complete make over was required. Another challenging aspect was obtaining city design approval which emphasized and promoted a Mediterranean style solution.  Our solution was a hybrid between the cities stylistic requirements, the needs of the client and my resistance to the Mediterranean style and towards a more modernistic scheme.  The solution included a second floor with a well balanced approach between interior private space and exterior terraces.  And a new family room, enlarged double height dining and living room and a larger kitchen defined the ground floor level.  The modifications increased the square footage to approximately, 3,500 SF,

The Couture residence was a complete make over.  It included a 500 s.f. addition to an existing 1,500 s.f. 2 story home.  Before and after pictures reveal the contrast between the delapidated existing structure and the new.  Taking advantage of a large back yard, a pool was incorporated into the design as a main attraction.  We accentuated it by creating a bistro kitchen that extends out towards the pool.  The bistro concept was utilized here due to the local culture, which emphasize less living room and more entertainment space.  Hence, the bistro configuration which is defined by a series of double doors at the rear of the house that frame the pool from the interior and when opened, allows the interior to bleed towards the exterior creating an open plan that allows plenty of natural ventilation and light into the house, while providing guests and residents a visual connection to the exterior.  Essentially, when all the double doors are opened, the edge or the exterior wall that defines the bistro kitchen is erased and creates a very large indoor outdoor area for entertaining.

Bazzura Cafe is a 1,200 S.F. Colombian Dining establishment in Doral, FL.  For the client and first time restaurant owner, understanding the required cooking equipment and spatial requirements was the first challenge.  Once that was established, the next challenge was to create a simple design that revolved around the cooking equipment and limited space.  The solution was one that uses the narrow volume of the existing space and emphasizes its proportions by dividing the space down the center leaving one half for cooking and serving and the other half for eating and drinking.  The materials selected were a natural response to the name and concept, Bazzura, which in Spanish, means Garbage.  The corregated metal panels were chosen to remind one of
the days of tin garbage cans, which are also used as the waste receptacles for the restaurant.