A ‘fortified’ bit of Bermuda on the Florida coast
New Urban News Article with images, 4/1/2008
Alys Beach is designed to make hot weather enjoyable and withstand fierce storms.
On the Florida Panhandle, half a dozen miles east of Seaside, one of the most exotic developments ever associated with American New Urbanism is coming into being. Called Alys Beach in memory of Alys Stephens, grandmother of developer Jason Comer, the 158-acre resort community is so picturesque that motorists sometimes stop and get out of their cars on the short segment of Highway 30A that the developer has converted into a boulevard.
White concrete tile roofs patterned after those in Bermuda step upward to the sky. Beneath the distinctive roofs, tightly clustered houses feature concrete walls covered with a finish of three-coat, integrally colored steel-troweled stucco. The smooth masonry creates an aura of solidity and permanence.
At Alys Beach’s eastern and western approaches stand white masonry “butteries” — small structures resembling the outbuildings that provided cool storage in the decades before mechanical refrigeration. Emblematic of traditional Bermudan architecture, the butteries (which house utility controls and are decorated with glazed ceramic tiles illustrating local history) act as pylons, marking the resort community’s boundaries.
