Mansour Residence

anna maria island, florida

This house sits on a remarkable site overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, with Egmont Key and Bird Key in the distance.  Its location in a velocity flood zone was particularly challenging, requiring all living spaces to be 12 feet above ground.  Walls below that height are required to break away if hit by a wave.  The house is designed as a square plan, topped with a steeply pitched hip roof.  The main living floor is a rectangle with porches on all four sides.  Some of the porches have been "enclosed" by windows and shutters set on a blind handrail.  To avoid the appearance of a large mass set on spindly pilings, the house is supported by a two-foot thick arcaded base, inspired by the train station on Boca Grande.  Lifting the living floor above the ground enables spectacular views over the dunes to the Gulf beyond.