Healy Guest House

The Healy Guest House is a small residential building with glass walls, wooden adjustable blinds, and a curved roof. The spaces open toward the surroundings with sliding glass elements that blur the boundary between interior and exterior.

Paul Rudolph and Ralph Twitchell designed this house between 1948 and 1949 as an experiment in new building forms. The project brought ship-building technologies from wartime into residential design.

The house reflects how post-war Florida embraced modern design ideas that transformed residential living. You can observe how residents and visitors experienced a radically open approach to private space.

The house can be viewed from outside and shows how adjustable blinds and sliding walls work in a tropical climate. The Siesta Key area has other examples of modern architecture from the same period to explore nearby.

The roof uses a system of steel straps and insulating boards originally developed to protect warships during combat. This unusual construction makes it a rare example of how military technology became part of civilian home building.