WaterSound

Water Sound, a planned resort community with houses, condominiums, restaurants, retail, and a hotel, is nestled amidst a forest, wetlands, and the unusual white sand dunes that line this stretch of coast along the Gulf of Mexico. The resort encompasses a 257-acre parcel along more than a mile of coastline on the Florida Panhandle. Owned by the St. Joe Company, which plans to develop a much larger tract of land north of adjacent Route C-30A in the future, Water Sound is meant to set the tone for future development, and in particular to upgrade the architectural character and image of this part of the Florida coast. A high-profile hotel, situated so as to take maximum advantage of the natural beauty of the site, will draw visitors from other part of the US in the hopes of making them future residents.

This firm's responsibilities include a master plan of the two primary portions of Water Sound, the Town and the Condominium Village. As the most high end part of the development and as a stand-alone gated community, the Village is designed as an archipelago of small greens with surrounding buildings that wrap in a picturesque way around an ocean inlet, providing sweeping views of the Gulf of Mexico.

The heart of Water Sound is the Town, whose spiral plan recalls the seaside imagery of nautilus and conch shells. The spiral plan creates curving streets which provide cinematically- unfolding vistas as they lead toward the beach. The focus of the plan is the grand resort hotel, which is elevated so as to maximize its views over the dunes to the sea, and which dominates the adjacent town green. The massing of the houses and the hotel are inspired by scenic New England towns, and here echoes the forms of the adjacent dunes. The addition of deep overhangs and great shaded porches reflects the traditional wooden architecture of Florida. Unusually large windows provide an unexpected modern note to the architectural vocabulary while opening views to the surrounding nature preserves. Enhancing the sense of community on this open seaside site and underlining the beach focus of the town, many of the bungalows face intimate pedestrian boardwalks that lead directly to the sea.

A Beach Club, complete with a member's dining room and a grand swimming pool, is the visual link between the Town and the Village, and will eventually serve as the beach portal for the communities to be built to the north.