'Being my own client was very strange,’ says New York architect, Luca Andrisani. ‘So I really went crazy with the concept - because I was able to.’ That concept, for his loft-like North Miami Beach getaway was ‘60s Italian design, and the craziness comes in via the Vietri tile, designed by Gio Ponti. The tile was everywhere, both in the apartment and on the terrace.
‘I still think of it as a minimalist approach, because I just used one material.’ The rooms pick up the blues of Ponti’s design, in the window treatments, the kitchen cabinetry, and the upholstery throughout. ‘Ponti specifically matched this tile to the water,’ says Andrisani.
‘That’s why it was ideal. When you step in this, it’s the blue of the ocean.’ The ocean features prominently in the apartment: ‘The way the space is structured,’ says Andrisani, who created the open plan, ‘wherever you are, even if you are in the bathroom, you can see water.’