Miami home is built to withstand flooding
Rather than fighting Mother Nature and rising sea levels, real estate developer Hany Boutros and Miami architect Rene Gonzalez have taken a resilient approach to a new series of luxury “elevated homes” in south Florida. Featuring a retractable automated stairway that connects a 9,400-square-foot open-air gated tropical garden and parking area with the three-bedroom house above it, the home was built to allow up to 10 feet of storm surge to safely flow beneath it.
“The house already went through a test when Hurricane Irma hit,” Boutros said. “I had zero damages. It was as if Irma went around my house.” While Irma’s 185-mile-an-hour winds had largely spared the area, it was a different story on the ground with wind-driven rain flooding the ultramodern high rises and hotels and leaving neighborhoods without electricity for weeks. “Rather than fighting the situation,” Gonzalez said, “we have to create spaces that allow us to live in a way that is closer to the environment.”
About the Author
Tara Lukasik is an editor for the International Code Council, working out of its Western Regional Office in Southern California. Starting with the International Conference of Building Officials as the managing editor of its Building Standards Magazine, she has more than 25 years of experience in writing and editing feature content and advancing digital newsletters and magazines from conception to completion. She is currently putting her experience to good use managing the Code Council's Building Safety Journal and its BSJ Weekly newsletter, which connects construction professionals with the Code Council community and the latest industry news and resources. A California native, she enjoys volunteering in her local community and exploring the Golden State with her husband and three spoiled dachshunds. Follow her on Twitter @ICCTLukasik and Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/taralukasik.
