Bal Harbour Residence: A Sculptural Dialogue by Hino Studio × Navicon Construction
A Framework for Living
The clients, seasoned collectors with an affinity for mid-century design, commissioned Hino Studio with what MacLean calls “a rare gift in residential work—complete trust.” Their brief was less about program and more about emotion: a space that felt lived-in, tactile, and architecturally intelligent. The challenge lay in transforming a conventional condominium shell into an environment that unfolds through rhythm and restraint.
The entry sequence sets the tone: a slatted walnut screen articulates the threshold, introducing pattern, depth, and shadow play. Beyond it, the plan opens in calibrated layers—public, social, private—defined not by walls but by material transitions. Honed Greek marble, chosen for its subtle veining and cool temperature, anchors the living zones, while bleached walnut herringbone flooring warms the bedrooms. “It’s a choreography of textures rather than divisions,” says MacLean.
Spatial Poetry in Detail
Arches appear as leitmotifs—soft geometries that counterbalance the rectilinearity of the building envelope. In the powder room, a barrel-vaulted ceiling and textured plaster transform the smallest space into an architectural experience. “It’s an atmospheric gesture,” MacLean explains, “a reminder that intimacy and monumentality can coexist.”
Millwork, meanwhile, acts as connective tissue. Every cabinet, niche, and reveal is custom—an approach that allowed Hino Studio and Navicon Construction to merge structure with furniture. Navicon’s execution was integral: tolerances were measured in millimeters, and every joinery line had to align visually with the overall composition. “What’s most difficult is making complexity appear effortless,” notes Antonio J. Torres B., Navicon’s founder and principal.
A Curated Interior Landscape
The furnishing strategy extends the architectural language. MacLean layered Brazilian modernist icons—Sérgio Rodrigues, Jorge Zalszupin—with sculptural mid-century pieces by Vladimir Kagan, then punctuated them with contemporary lighting and artworks. The result is not a catalogue of design names but an ecosystem of forms and materials that converse across decades and continents.
The palette—sandstone, terracotta, umber, and ocean blue—reinterprets the local environment without imitation. In daylight, the marble reflects the Atlantic’s shimmer; by night, the walnut absorbs the glow of diffused lighting, lending the interiors a cinematic calm.
Precision as Craft
For Navicon Construction, known throughout Miami for its technically exacting builds, the Bal Harbour project was an exercise in precision. Hidden door systems, curved millwork, and bespoke stone fabrication demanded iterative collaboration between designer, builder, and artisan. “We think of ourselves as translators,” Torres B. explains. “Our work is to bridge design intent with construction logic—so the poetry remains intact after the dust clears.”
Photography by What The Fox Studio
The Design Context
In a city often defined by visual exuberance, this project asserts a quieter, more enduring language of luxury. It belongs to a new Miami—one that values craftsmanship over spectacle, tactility over gloss, and longevity over novelty. The residence reflects a maturing design culture in South Florida, where global influence meets local sensibility, and where restraint becomes the ultimate expression of confidence.
For Hino Studio and Navicon Construction, the Bal Harbour Residence represents more than a collaboration—it’s a manifesto for what contemporary coastal living can be: intuitive, material, architectural, and profoundly human.
