Ed and Rosemary Chase hired architect Yehuda Inbar in 2010 to resolve the privacy issue with the open adjacent lot to their home. They had converted a 1930′s historic church and were plagued by trespassers into what had been a parking lot. Ed had asked for a 20′ high privacy wall. Rosemary had asked for a serene setting which would include a spa. Architect Inbar created a large internal courtyard that would capture the old church’s radiant energies and provide a viewing platform of the historic church. Instead of a crowded enclosure, the architect created an entirely new environment. Not only did the Chases have the privacy that they needed, but they also expanded the living area of their home as the architect added a guesthouse, a yoga studio, a spa, an orchard and a garden.
The parking was placed in the rear of the property so as to allow a daily garden experience. A 60′ colonnade with raw concrete columns and raw aluminum beams was built to connect the new building to the old and at the same time to help organize the exterior spaces. The entry to the property was enhanced by a wooden gate with a peek hole and a bell, which leads to a series of spaces enhanced by the landscaping leading to the main house, guesthouse, spa and garden areas.
The guesthouse was designed to be a model of the environmental mission of the architect.The project earned a platinum rating, the highest possible, from the “Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) Green Building program.
The strength of the project lies not only in the unique-downtown setting, which was created, but also in the ease of the relationship between the historic church and the modern structure that the architect designed.
