Penchant for Purple Stuns in Miami Beach Condo

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The team at ODP Architecture and Design doesn’t take anything at face value. When recently tackling a high-rise residence in South Beach, designers Lachmee Chin, Kurt Dannwolf, and Sitki Sipahi were determined to give their client a backdrop that would move him, so there’s no detail (from layout to surfaces to ornamentation) that wasn’t scrupulously considered. Case in point: The chandeliers in the main living areas of the condo. “We designed them so they look like rustling leaves blown by the wind from the Leda painting into the living room and then the dining room,” says Chin. The two lit works of art were made in the Czech Republic from a combination of hand-blown glass in three colors and were meant to resemble leaves as they were transported from one space to the next. The installation is but one example of the multilayered ODP touch.

As a result, the interiors feel as if they are in motion—from the patterns in the gleaming Macassar ebony and Movingui wood surfaces to the geometric motifs in the embossed wallpaper. This was calculated, as were the highly considered equations Sipahi employed to extrapolate a feature wall that divides the living space from the office. “It was a dance of mathematics,” he says. “The starting point was a formula that defines the fine curve—we took the concept and made something beautiful to look at. The method may seem simple, but if you ask a mathematician, it is very complex.” 

The painting in the living room, a modern rendition of the Leda myth, inspired the color palette, as did the fact that purple is the homeowner’s favorite color. Everything in the Ocean Drive home is custom, and the interior architectural elements were designed to frame walls holding art and enhance views, which span the horizon lines in all directions. “Each residence in this building encompasses an entire floor,” notes Chin. “There is a three-and-a-half-sided balcony, so you could almost do laps around the building. In fact, the 2,043-square-foot outdoor area is almost equal in size to the 2,949-square-foot interior.” 

The desired vibe for visitors to feel the moment they set foot in the home is “let me entertain you,” although there’s nothing superficial about the backdrop. “We wanted the interiors to have substance,” says Chin, “so we chose rich materials and Art Deco references that are far from stereotypical.”

Story Credits:

Interior Design & Architecture by Lachmee Chin, Kurt Dannwolf & Sitki Sipahi, ODP Architecture and Design, Hollywood, FL

Text by Saxon Henry

Photography by Ken Hayden, Miami, FL

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