By Christine Davis
See photos of the house
When you think of an “old” house in Florida, a 1920s Spanish Mediterranean villa or a 1930s Key West-style cottage might come to mind.
But time waits for no man, or building either, it seems. And now, mid-century modern architecture is “old,” and can be designated historic.
Take, for example, interior designer Virginia Courtenay’s house, at 212 Seabreeze. It was designed by noted mid-century modern architect Paul Rudolph and built by James Sinks for art collector Sewell C. Biggs in 1955.
Virginia and her husband, Erskine, bought the Biggs home, a rectangular steel and glass boxlike structure on stilts, in 1973.
“We were attracted to the architecture,” she said. “I couldn’t believe that there was a house like this in our area.”
Rudolph, she explains, was a leading architect in the 20th century American design field whose testing ground was Florida. “Outside of his (Florida) west coast homes, I know of only two here: this one and another in Ocean Ridge.”
For her, the house “was all steel and glass. It was all about light, and that’s pretty special,” she said.
In 1983, a storm caused some flooding, and the home needed to be renovated. “There was a foot of water in the lower level,” she recalls. She also wanted to add a library, guest bedroom and laundry.
At that point in time, Rudolph was in New York City, and the Courtenays consulted with him on their renovation. Then they hired Bob Currie of Currie, Sowards, Aguila Architects, to implement Rudolph’s design.
“The house, on blocks and on four columns, had to be raised and the I-beams cut off, in order to slide another box [housing the new rooms] underneath it, which became the balcony for the unit upstairs,” is the way Currie describes the project.
“And that was done with Rudolph’s approval. It was his idea and we implemented it. It more than doubled the space. I thought it was a good solution.”
At that time, designation was not an issue, he said. “It was the same architect and the same style.”
Then, a couple of years ago, Courtenay planned some new additions — an elevator, a new master bedroom and bathroom and an art studio. Also in that time frame, she nominated her property to be designated historical.
“I wanted to leave Delray a good example of a very well-known architect’s work, and the designation allowed that to happen,” Courtenay explains.
“It also allows people to understand that you can add on to a historic home with the blessings of our historic community. People shouldn’t be adverse to designating their home if it has significance or is a rare house.”
Courtenay rehired Currie to design the new addition.
Said Currie: “We wanted to do something completely opposite, so that the new addition wouldn’t interfere with the original intent of the older structure.”
The new addition is sculptural, a nice juxtaposition with the original rectilinear building. The two structures are connected by a glass bridge, which houses the elevator stack.
“We wanted to touch the original house as lightly as possible, and it had to be done clearly in a different style,” Currie explains.
Courtenay is thrilled with the outcome.
“I loved the whole process. I know every single bolt, beam, the tie-in for the terraces. The way Bob designed the structures; they look like they just float. The scale and proportions are wonderful. These are all the reasons to hire a top architect.”
The Delray Historical Preservation Board recognized Courtenay and Currie in May for their renovation and addition with one of its annual awards.
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