Design Development Phase (DD for short)

It is not possible to move into the Design Development of a building until a clear schematic design has been finalized.

At the beginning of the Schematic Phase of The Jetsons House, I was frustrated because all the models I came up with looked wrong. To make an addition to a historic, already beautiful house (even if abandoned) poses a great challenge. At first, we entered the design process with preconceived ideas of what the house needed to look like — to satisfy the commercial market, for instance. The appearance of the building was burdened with imposed forms that were foreign to the essence of its nature, the site, the existing community, etc.

The entire Design Process is a relationship between the Artist and her creation. A relationship that will not deepen without practicing the Art of listening. It would seem obvious that before intervening on a 75 year-old existing structure, it is only respectful to ask The Jetsons House, “What do you want to be? I know your history. You were conceived in an era of new hope, served previous generations of owners, then stood abandoned and empty of life for many years. What do you see for your future?”

But, I had not asked the house these questions while I was burdened by the commercial requirements of the real estate market. Failing to achieve a satisfying schematic design, my partners and I agreed to go back to Step 1.

The Art of listening

I gave myself the freedom to quietly listen to The Jetsons House. An existing structure is the product of the Past, it exists in the Present and is challenged to emerge into the Future. It wants to move forward. “I want to be beautiful again. I want to merge with a garden full of palm trees and magenta bougainvillea. I want the glittering light reflecting off the pool to tickle my windows and walls. I want to hear the splashing of a water fountain and children’s laughter. I want to be one with the Miami skies.”

I told The Jetsons House, “I hear you and I see you!”

It is important to note that a house does not exist in a void. It stands in the realm of a community, defined by specific time and geography. Therefore, I went beyond understanding the single house, I tuned into the Zeitgeist.

The Zeitgeist is the unique spirit of our times, the collective spirit of our era. To me, it is an intangible atmosphere filled with answers to guide us toward solutions through the creation of art works (architecture) that will inspire our human spirit and bring hope and future to our communities. The term is derived from the German words Zeit, meaning “time,” and Geist, meaning “spirit” or “ghost.”

Architecture as Art transcends generations. It is Past, Present and Future, merged into one. As I saw curved, futuristic forms, I felt like the 1930s architects during the Streamline Moderne period. There was a sense of speed, motion, and dynamism. “Let me fly with wings to reach heavenly heights and columns to stand on when I come back home after the flight.” This was the strong sense I got.

The original 1950s Jetsons House by Rufus Nims seemed to “float.” It could have easily coexisted within Orbit City, from the Jetsons Cartoons. After my listening exercise I could imagine a spaceship-style car coming down from the skies and parking next to the existing house. That is when I saw how the new addition would house the Master Bedroom and third floor terrace, then below it, the ground floor terrace.

I finalized the virtual model. My partners loved it, we all signed off on the drawings. Schematic Design was done and it was time to move into the next phase.

Design Development

For our Group, the most important step in this stage is to assemble the team that will work on the project. That includes a separate architecture firm with expertise on the project at hand, the structural engineer, and the General Contractor.

Raphael J. Hillis, our junior partner, is in charge of researching possible teams during the Schematic Phase. In this way we already have a preselected group of candidates once we have the preliminary model.

We were looking for a residential architecture firm that has experience working on high-end homes. The personality of the Lead Architect was important as well. We wanted someone talented, even-tempered and well organized. We were grateful when Robert Graboski from Village Architects agreed to work on The Jetsons House. He was recommended by Thomas Moe from THM Structural Consulting. We worked with Tom in 2018 in DILIDO HAUS located on Venetian Islands, Miami Beach — a home I designed that was published in over 50 countries. To make the long story short, its “successful embodiment of Miami Modern style (MIMO) and Futurism” can be seen HERE. Word of mouth is a great way to meet awesome professionals.

For the General Contractor, we looked for construction groups that had experience with historic structures since this type of property is tricky to alter. Addition or remodeling needs must be done with the utmost care in order not to compromise the integrity of the structural elements or any architectural detail that will remain. We also needed a General Contractor that appreciated the significance of Miami’s history.

After meeting many teams, Torre Companies met all our requirements. Venny Torre, its owner, showed us photos of The Jetsons House he had taken many years before we bought it. He had been documenting structures he believed were going to be demolished in Miami. In his opinion, knocking down The Jetsons House would have been a great loss for the MIMO Biscayne Boulevard Historic District and the architectural heritage of Miami as a whole. From the buildings he photographed, The Jetsons House is one of the last ones standing! Venny is an active community leader who brings over 30 years of development and construction expertise to our project. The Gabriela Liebert-Torre team: Ronny Koen, Jose Fernandez, have been intricately involved with all aspects of The Jetsons House, starting from the design development phase.

Once the team was fully assembled we began the process of developing the design. In the Architecture Design Process, Design Development drawings use the schematic design and take them one step closer to the construction phase. It is typically referred to as DD. This phase lays out mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, and architectural elements, and details the material types, the location of windows and doors, etc. This phase has to be carefully monitored as the engineering systems can go against the architectural clarity of the design. The placement of air conditioning ducts is especially challenging for an existing structure with low ceilings.

We will continue to detail how our team works together to complete this meaningful project. Follow our progress.