Part of the challenge for Taylor Hardwick, one of Florida’s best-loved architects, was to build a “year-round beach house” that balanced complete privacy with the flexibility “to accommodate large numbers of guests when” Bobby Jacobs was “entertaining.”

When the architect-to-be Michael Dunlap was about 20, he got himself invited to pool parties at the house. “I remember Jacobs talking about the house,” Dunlap says. “He loved the architecture of Richard Neutra and he interviewed a series of architects to find one he thought was compatible with his vision.”

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The result, says Dunlap, was “one of Hardwick’s best designs. It’s rare that there’s such a camaraderie between client and architect in terms of vision. It was a great opportunity for Hardwick to practice his skilled Mid-Century Modern aesthetic.” Later, Dunlap became a good friend of Taylor Hardwick and produced Hardwick’s book on his architectural career at the end of the older man’s life.

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Rows of columns held a roofing system of flat diamond shaped trusses shingled on top and finished underneath to a ceiling of thin cedar strips through which cool air flowed without vents. Lighting came from wall brackets, so no lighting fixtures “interrupted” the flow of the ceiling either.

As Dunlap explains, “a continuous beam supports the diamond trusses so you never see the bearing condition and it just looks like the glass is floating.”