W“We kept it simple because the view
and the natural beauty of Figure Eight
are what the house affords,” says owner
Pat Rodgers.
The house was built in the 1980s and
purchased by Pat and her husband B.D.
Rodgers a decade later as a vacation
home. Originally designed by architect
Haywood Newkirk Sr., the wood and
steel-frame house had not been updated
since its creation and was lacking the
modern edge it originally possessed.
So, the Rodgers hired architect
Michael Moorefield to modify
Newkirk’s design and revive the structure’s
contemporary bone structure.
“I thought this house was beautiful
to start with,” Moorefield says. “It has
a tectonic verve. That’s what Haywood
did. What we did was
bring out more of that
character.”
The original footprint
of the house was
left intact. Its squared
floorplan — two parallel
wings facing the
waterway — are connected
by open corridors.
Stacked gallerystyle
interiors, ground
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WBM may 2012
level and elevated atriums command the
center of the house where an open-air,
two-story courtyard welcomes the natural
daylight that fills the living spaces
upstairs.
Moorefield thought more of that daylight
could be captured and views would
be enhanced if solid walls were replaced
with more windows.
“Before, the structure got lost in
the walls; now it stands out,” he says.
The idea was simple and the result is
sophisticated.
“When we talked to Michael we realized
he knew what we knew — that
this house was something special. It’s
not a big house, but it has great bones,”
Rodgers says.
The house itself is chic and unadorned
and was built with meticulous
care, says Newkirk,
now retired and living
in Hawaii. He remembers
the original owners,
Eleanor and William
Beane, being fastidious
clients and no expense was
spared in creating it.
From the Japanese concrete
tile roof to the placement
of the house on the