This 1949 Modernist icon was designed by architect Rufus Nims, one of the architects who defined the naturally-cooled Florida tropical house following WWII. Throughout his career, Nims won 18 national and international awards for architecture. He was also the creator of the iconic orange Howard Johnsons restaurants and hotels famous in the 1950's and 1960's.
This house represented a visionary response to tropical living - raised on columns to catch the breeze and escape the heat, reimagining life in the subtropics long before sustainability became a movement. One of the first residential buildings in South Florida whose weight was carried entirely by columns, not walls - it was an architectural innovation way ahead of its time.
Even before it was finished in 1949, the house was the talk of Miami. In the early 1960's, when the TV cartoon The Jetsons came out, the home was nicknamed The Jetsons House from neighbors who marveled at its futuristic form and floating appearance. From its passive cooling strategies to its original tree placement designed around light, shade, and temperature - every detail was intentional. The house stayed with its original owner Charles Roman until 1975, then developers came and went, unable to revive its potential.
After sitting vacant for years, the house found new life through the passionate vision of architect/owner Gabriela Liebert. She and her team: Robert Graboski of Village Architects, structural engineer Tom Moe, and builder Torre Construction & Development completed a thoughtful restoration and addition that honors the original while adapting it for contemporary life. Rather than impose a new identity, every decision was guided by respect for the home's origins. The floating design was preserved, the architectural language was maintained, and interventions were kept minimal and meaningful. This is a refined balance between past and present, beauty and logic, vision and restraint.
This unique house, now named SkyFin, is ready to share its story with you./p>
