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Studio Shell

@studio_shell_

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Architecture and Design.

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A little behind the scenes.

@hayleesharvestfl 🍓

#Onset #behindthescenes #hayleesharvest

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Finished at last! I've been working on these decorative ceiling beams for @studio_shell_ on and off for months. The last component was the center motifs, @johnnyladerer helped select compositions that represented significant scenes for their family--A mussel shell in front of Wirts Point, an orange scallop at Blowing Rocks Beach, Caroline's great-grandfather on horseback in Cuba, Johnny's grandparents looking at the Miami skyline just after WWII... I can't wait to see what they look like installed!

*do not call me for decorative painting right now lol, I'm too busy through Spring 2027. But you're welcome to visit my upcoming exhibitions:
-John Sims & Waterworks in Sarasota opening mid Oct
-Thomasville Wildlife Arts Festival Nov 21-22
-Wildspace Gallert St Pete opening Dec 12
-FL Gallery at Lake Wales Arts Center opening Jan 14

#oldfloridastyle #floridadesign #floridaartist

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From our fields to our friends’ kitchens. Here’s a taste of the moments created with Haylee’s Harvest.
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#freshfromflorida #floridaproduce #groceryshopping #freshproduce #produce

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A first glimpse at the next chapter of The Historic Hillcrest Lodge.
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#weddingvenue #centralflorida #lakesidevillas #crookedlake #eventvenue

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“Buildings should be for growth, and there is nothing that requires more room than the human spirit.” Alfred Browning Parker

Built in 1964 and demolished on November 9, 2023, this three-story Coral Gables house was a masterpiece by one of Florida’s most famous architects: Alfred Browning Parker. Treading the line between modernism and vernacular architecture, the house is cantilevered from a keystone plinth. Raising the house from the ground, the plinth acts as the ship’s prow, cutting through the water of inevitable storm surges. America is new. Florida is thought of as new (despite being the first place the Spanish landed ) and Miami is even “newer”. People say Florida and Miami have no history. History starts somewhere but we are destroying our history as quickly as possible it seems. Why this wasn’t saved is a long frustrating story. Preservation failed to prevent a non Floridian from@destroying part of our history. Something that’s been weighing on our minds more lately is in the face of insurmountable odds, why is nothing salvaged or saved from our historic homes?
#alfredbrowningparker #floridamodernism #floridamodernismanddesign #floridamodern #midcenturymodern #architecture #vernacular #organicmodernism

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At Studio Shell Mound, we’ve been thinking about the Primitive Hut. Not a literal building, but a philosophical idea.

In the 18th century, French theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier proposed the Primitive Hut as a way to understand the origins of architecture. It wasn’t about labeling early shelters as “primitive,” but about asking, what is essential? What happens when we build in direct response to land, sky, and season?

In Florida, these early structures weren’t simply functional. They were impermanent, migratory, and often sacred. Built with the seasons in mind. Torn down, rebuilt, moved inland or back to the coast. They rose alongside feast mounds and gathering times. The act of building itself was part of life’s rhythm, tied to time, place, and ritual. Shelter, yes, but also ceremony. Architecture as participation in the natural world.

The Primitive Hut isn’t about nostalgia or aesthetics. It’s about essentials. Shade from the sun. Protection from the rain. A place to gather. A pause between earth and sky.

It reminds us that building is never just about walls or roofs. It’s about life. How we move, gather, rest, and return. How we mark time. Even today, we’re still chasing that. Homes that hold meaning. Spaces that shape us back.

Architecture, then, becomes more than just design. It becomes a conversation with the land. A chickee raised above the swamp, a cracker cabin with a breezeway, a conch house angled for wind—each one Florida’s answer to the question, how do we belong here?

In that way, the Primitive Hut isn’t primitive at all.
It’s wisdom.

This isn’t a thesis. It’s an invitation. A space for curiosity, reflection, and design that listens. A way to open the door for architects, artists, and anyone who’s ever tried to make a house feel like home.

So tell us:

What’s your Florida home essential?
What makes a Florida home feel like home?

Is it the breeze through the porch screen? A good overhang? A shady spot to shell beans? A floor that stays cool under bare feet?

Tell us what home means to you 🐚 artwork: Merald Clark

#florida #floridahistory #floridadesign #architechture #coastalliving #interiordesign #homedecor #nature

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Scattered across Florida’s coasts and river mouths rise ancient earthen altars, built not with concrete, but with shell, ceremony, and the slow rhythm of tides. Long before Florida was Florida, these mounds endured.

Studio Shell Mound is named for Florida’s first architecture—ancient, adaptive, and built to last. It’s both a reference and a philosophy, chosen not just to honor the past, but to build from it.

These structures, crafted from oyster shell, bone, and sand, were more than refuse heaps. They were living architecture, foundations for homes, stages for ceremony, and markers of celestial events.

Sites like the Crystal River Shell Mound and Mound Key on the southwest coast reveal just how advanced this architecture was. These mounds weren’t only cultural monuments, they were also climate-responsive infrastructure. Elevated platforms offered protection from floodwaters and captured breezes in the summer heat. Engineered plazas helped manage water and wind flow. Some mounds were aligned with the solstice, turning landscapes into calendars.

At Crystal River alone, an estimated billion oysters were harvested, but recent research suggests this was no blind consumption. Early Floridians practiced mariculture, returning shells to seed new reefs, sparing juvenile oysters, and managing resources through ritual and restraint.

At Studio Shell Mound, we carry this legacy forward. We draw from Florida’s original architecture—layered, resilient, and in rhythm with the natural world. Our work is grounded in place, shaped by climate, and inspired by centuries of human-environment connection.

Architecture isn’t just shelter. It’s story, memory, and meaning. And in Florida, the land has always spoken first.

#florida #floridahistory #architecture #interiordesign #floridadesign #modernism #futurism #homedecor #coastalliving #nature

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We’re proud to announce that Florida Modernism & Design is evolving—reborn as Studio Shell Mound, a new venture in collaboration with @florida.folk.history

What began as an effort to spotlight Florida’s early modernists and Critical Regionalism is now growing into something broader, deeper, and more rooted in place.

Studio Shell Mound will serve as a living archive and idea mound for all things Florida architecture and design. A creative midden of inspiration, where tradition meets innovation, and memory becomes material.

Drawing from Cracker and Conch vernaculars, coral rock and coquina, we honor what came before while exploring what’s possible next: regenerative, climate-driven, inclusive, and deeply Floridian.

This is more than just buildings and aesthetics. It’s about ethos, about designing in relationship with land, culture, and climate. About collecting the fragments—shells, sketches, stories—and building a foundation that lasts.

Welcome to the mound.
We’re just getting started.

🐚 🐚 🐚

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Meet Noah Garcia and Johnny Laderer of @studio_shell_ 🐚 a Miami-based architecture firm specializing in simple, beautiful dwellings inspired by history and sculpture. Read their interview (it’s a great one!) via link in bio #designstorytellers #architecture

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Forging Heritage, Designing Tomorrow: A Look Back to our Dialogues at The Standard @thestandardmiami

D’Puglia @d_puglia_ brought together multidisciplinary pioneers to inspire and ignite conversations on heritage, sustainability, and creativity.

✨ D’Puglia Dialogues united thought leaders from art, design, architecture, development, and culture to explore:
🌍 The power of place
🍃 Art’s interaction with nature
♻️ Sustainable development and creativity

💡 Key takeaway: Heritage isn’t just about preserving the past—it’s about shaping a meaningful and innovative future.

A special thank you to Catie Case @catiecase from Surface Magazine @surfacemag and Stefano Cerrato from the Italian Cultural Institute Miami @iicmiami for guiding these impactful discussions.

We’re deeply grateful for our incredible speakers:
Antonio Aricò – Magna Graecia & Roots, internationally renowned designer @antonioarico
Peter Matthews – Nature and the Power of Place, internationally renowned artist @peter_matthews_artist
Matthew Hise – Heritage and Creativity in Empowerment, ISTANBUL’74 @matthew.hise @istanbul74_
Luca Conversano – Challenging Stereotypes, San Marzano @luca_conversano @sanmarzanowines
Ignacio Gonzales Arias – Culture & Heritage as a Development Asset, ONE Sotheby’s International Realty @ignaciogonzalezarias14 @onesir
Johnny Laderer – Preservation of Heritage & Design, Studio Shell @johnnyladerer @studio_shell_
Tim McCullough – Art, Philanthropy, and Design, LIND Art & Technology @lindsurf

Let’s continue the conversation:
🔹 What topic resonated with you the most?
🔹 How do you envision sustainable development?
🔹 Which version of Puglia’s legacy do you hope to preserve?

Share your thoughts in the comments—we’d love to hear from you!
📸 @federicalivia__

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(Eng/Por)
Continuing our collaboration with Studio Shell, we are developing a treehouse residence in Coconut Grove, FL, with the aim of bringing South American aesthetics to Miami.

To provide total relaxation, we present the Baixa Bed Double, offering ample and unburdened comfort. Complementing it, the Dão Bedside Table offers practicality for storing easily accessible items.

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Continuando a colaboração com o Studio Shell, estamos desenvolvendo uma residência arborícola em Coconut Grove, FL, com o objetivo de trazer a estética sul-americana para Miami.

Para proporcionar um relaxamento total, apresentamos a Baixa Bed Double, oferecendo grande conforto descompromissado. Complementando-a, a Dão Bedside Table traz a praticidade ao armazenar itens de fácil acesso.

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HELLO FRIENDS! Who is up for a last minute holiday weekend getaway? We just released previously blocked Memorial Day weekend dates at Shorebreak and ShoreTing. Feel free to DM me or hit up the listings on @airbnb. Book both houses for a discount and have free range of the property for this long holiday weekend. 🇧🇸🇧🇸🇧🇸 #eleuthera #bahamas #harbouriand #weekend #getaway #wanderlust #beach #holiday #escape #vacation #staycation #memorialday #location #photography #tbt

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