But on a muggy morning last May, a building of another sort, far rarer now in the city, was pleasantly dark and cool inside.
This particular two-story, four-bedroom house, following the traditional style, is shaded and discreet.
The 7,000-square-foot home’s focal point is, instead, inside: a large rectangular courtyard bursting with palms and giant elephant ear plants and bordered by a colonnade shaggy with wisteria.
If the building’s more modern neighbors — glass cubes with manicured lawns — seem somehow both sealed against the elements and vulnerable to them, this house feels solid and purpose-built.
On warm days, the doors are left open and the rooms fill with the salty sea breeze.
Locations:
Miami, Biscayne Bay, Spain, Latin America