Accolade Construction
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words by Brian Libby
If success is what one makes of it, Henrique Chor and Jorge Esteban have left very little to chance. Not only does their Miami Beach company, Accolade Construction, offer an eclectic array of styles from Mediterranean to Modern to French chateau, but also a range of design and construction services provided in-house. These aren’t off-the-shelf builder plans, but exquisitely refined homes that stay true to their stylistic roots.
“We try to say, ‘When you hire us, you’re hiring everything,’” says Esteban, who leads design for the firm while his partner oversees construction says. “Our product is very eclectic: we do a little bit of everything. Typically architects don’t get out of one style, or they try not to. We approach it differently. A client hires us to provide them a service. We try to build what they dream.”
Natives of Cuba and Brazil, respectively, Esteban and Chor have applied a strong immigrant’s work ethic to their education and careers; between them the pair have engineering, architecture and graduate business degrees, and each a contractor’s license. After working separately in the 1980s, Esteban running an architecture firm and Chor a construction company (and sometimes collaborating on the same projects), they came together in the early 1990s at another company, Breakstone, before buying out its architecture-construction wing to form Accolade. Though out of school for a few decades, their education is continuous as well, for central to an Accolade home is the extensive research that went into its style, function and form. They even once produced an illustrated book of homes in 60 different styles to teach clients. “I would have clients tell me, “I want a French house.’ And I’d say, ‘I’m sorry but that’s not French,’” Esteban laughs.“Sometimes people who grew up here and never moved out are never exposed to different cultures. But If I go to Italy, the first thing I want to see is the Italian architecture. The same thing goes for France or Israel.”
“We have here in South Florida something people call Boca Rattan style,” Chor adds. “They build these villas that are a mix of everything and end up having nothing. Jorge tries to stay true to one style. I think he has this gift, this gift of understanding, and the willingness to do his research.
The firm’s Coconut residence, for example, has an exterior befitting a Roman emperor: creamy white curving arches and columns with intricate carvings beneath rooftop master suite and deck, overlooking a pool that comes all the way into the courtyard between two wings. The kitchen is a study in contrasting tones and textures, from the rich red-brown cabinetry to the white marble countertops. The master bathroom is more like a spa, with its elaborate shelved vanity and generously sized tub. The Hibiscus Island house in Miami Beach, by comparison, is a modern design. Clad in classic Miami white stucco, its simple geometric lines and curves give way to the view outside to an outdoor pool and the bay just beyond. Besides its 8,000 square feet of interior space, a highlight is the outdoor kitchen under a pergola, nestled alongside an open spa overlooking the bay.
“Our clients love water, sound and views,” Esteban says. We try to make that a focus, while staying true to the original style. But we also give clients the best they can get. Today these houses are intelligent houses where the client can be on vacation and if someone rings the bell of his front door he can see on his phone who is there and even open the gate for a delivery. It also should be designed in a sustainable way. It’s all about putting a lot of thought into the design, and being a true style. But at the end of the day, whatever they’re looking for, we try to accommodate.”
