Karen L. Jacobson Architects Studio

St. Croix

This project, which the owners call The Pavilions, started design as beach cabanas - accessories to a large house to be built on the hill behind. As the hillside house developed, the owner became increasingly intrigued with enlarging the cabanas into habitable rooms, and he eventually forgot about the hill house. The cabanas became bedrooms with baths and dressing rooms and are connected by an open arcade that encloses the drive court. The carport and mechanical equipment is tucked into the side of the hill, hiding the house from the road. The suites share a great room pavilion. The large living area has a series of folding doors, which open on to a pool and the Caribbean Sea. The arcade ends at stairs at each end. One set leads to the road and the other to a lookout tower. The buildings use the native materials of stuccoed concrete block, concrete tiles and counters, metal roof and mahogany woodwork. Effort was made to take advantage of the local breezes for cooling. Water from roof runoff is saved in cisterns under the house. Additional well water is purified through a reverse osmosis system. Because the house is on the Caribbean Sea, the design and construction were subject to an extensive coastal review process.