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65 remembers. "Space and design have always turned me on. That's what made me get into real estate." The timeless, enduring quality of European construction methods never left his mind. "In centuries past, things were built to last for all time. I hoped James and I could build a house that wasn't as transient as 21st-century life has become, where everything is designed for obsolescence." Ferrara's answer was an elegant, contemporary residence that feels as permanent and methodically considered as anything that might have come centuries before. The 3,600-square-foot structure, designed in an offset cruciform plan, has stalwart block walls finished in cast terrazzo, concrete and wide-plank walnut floors, and hot-rolled-steel storefront windows and doors. Like houses long ago, it was designed for efficient cross- ventilation, and even the voluminous living room, with its 16-foot-high ceilings, can circulate a breeze and cool down quickly without air conditioning during temperate months. When needed, a high-tech geothermal cooling and heating system kicks in. Ferrara consulted the golden mean to proportion the rooms, but he also put his own design stamp on the project, including a master bedroom that cantilevers over the back lot, appearing to float above the gardens. He played with height and scale for drama, with a low-ceiling entry vestibule that leads into a soaring main living and dining area. This massive main room was a first for Ferrara, but they are de rigueur in villas and meant for entertaining. "I've never designed a room like it for anyone, and when we were building it, some wondered if it might be too tall," he says. But like Villa Saraceno, it's a comfortable and pleasant space, all the more enticing when the French doors are flung open to the terrace. "One of the reasons we built the house with a room this large was to entertain," Ferrara says. "We are involved with different philanthropic groups and we have lots of dinner parties. A great luxury is to have people over and to feed them well." The art of entertaining is a sentiment Ferrara's Sicilian grandmother would have understood. For more formal dinners, a long B&B Italia dining table can seat 20, which is separated from the custom Bulthaup kitchen by a floating, walnut-paneled wall. The kitchen has its own lounge seating for smaller groups, and sometimes Ferrara and Griffin switch out the two spaces, moving the dining table into the kitchen so that guests can talk and eat while Ferrara or an invited chef cooks. "Growing up, the whole life of our house was centered on the kitchen," he says. "My grandmother made all our bread, sauces, and pastas every Sunday. She made sausages from scratch. It's very Italian to eat in the kitchen — we often had 12 to 15 people crowded in there for dinner." Long before Griffin and Ferrara ever considered building a contemporary villa, they had been collecting Italian furnishings for their previous homes, including contemporary pieces by B&B Italia and Max Alto and Italian antiques. "I wanted to design the house around furniture we already had," Griffin says. "It's a distillation of experiences we've had and purchases we made during our travels." Interior designer Jennifer Haralson was enlisted to help pull it all together, re-covering and refinishing as needed and creating a furniture plan. Holding court in the living room is a grand piano, an acquisition Griffin made in the 1980s after graduating from Southern Methodist University. "My mother was musical, and she pushed me to buy a piano," he says. "I didn't even have a decent sofa or table yet, but she insisted, saying, 'If you have a grand piano, your home is well-furnished no matter (continued)