Architecture at the beach

A carefully crafted home for a couple and their family looking to slow down on Long Beach Island. Located on a particularly narrow stretch of the barrier island, the house responds to the site’s unique positioning to maximize expansive views towards both the bay and the ocean. The site is situated three lots back from the oceanfront and bound directly to the west by the historic Long Beach Island Fishing Club -- whose facilities and parking area occupy the entire depth of the block along the site’s western boundary. The Fishing Club building is set back from the street front, exposing the entire western facade of the Gap House to views of the bay that would otherwise typically be restricte... More

A rickety 50’s beach shack is renovated to provide a deceptively simple, modern retreat and gardens overlooking the ocean. This project was undertaken when Anne Hindley was at Allan Powell Architects. Robert Blakburn Robert Blakburn Robert Blakburn Robert Blakburn Robert Blakburn Robert Blakburn More

Located in the central region of Vietnam, Van Phong Bay is about 30 minutes from the Nha Trang city center by car to the North, owning many beautiful beaches and extremely majestic natural landscapes. Hiroyuki Oki   The house was developed based on the idea of ​​​​the owner's desire to have a Mediterranean Revival - Santorini architecture. However, the difficulty when developing this style is that the doorways are very small and narrow as well as how to bring new modernity to the house. From that concept, Santo by the Sea is designed with large arched doorways to make the most of the beauty of the surrounding nature and bring natural light to the interior spaces. Hiroyuki Oki   To express the meaning that the house i... More

The soft clean lines, the subtle textures of the surfaces reflect the simplicity of the minimalistic architectural design of this modern beach villa in the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The Summer House consists of two floor levels with open living and dining spaces, 4 standard en-suite bedrooms, a master suite, a roof terrace lounge and bar. Sadun De Silva All inhabited spaces are provided with an infinite view of the ocean with the used of tall glazed windows. The framework of the windows is of white aluminium powder coat finish, which blends in with its neutral surrounding. The white interior and exterior finishes to the villa in Ambalangoda and its minimalist landscape completes the overall tropical feel. The introduction of the op... More

The new South Melbourne Life Saving Club responds to the linear nature of the foreshore that stretches from St Kilda to Port Melbourne. Both Beaconsfield Parade and the beach promenade are primarily concerned with linear north/south movement, which prompted the built form to capture and celebrate this dynamic flow and horizon line beyond. Being a public building, JCB wanted it to feel open and accessible to the community. The transparent multi-purpose space to its south, as well as the covered, open deck encourages views to the bay, and offers an opportunity to pause and engage with the beach, the club and any community functions happening within. The observation room and skylights playfully illuminate interiors and flick up out of the ro... More

This house and artist studio is nestled into a steep site overlooking the dramatic, black sand dunes of West Auckland’s Bethells Beach. Three timber boxes extend towards a deck that hovers over native bush. Two of the boxes house living and bedroom spaces, the third is the studio. Clear glazing at the ends of each box frame views of Nikau palms, distant dunes and the coast. Where privacy is more critical, natural light is diffused through translucent fibreglass. “... The strength of its forms belies a harmonious relationship with the landscape,” NZIA Awards Jury, 2003. Photos: Jackie Meiring.Awards: NZIA New Zealand Award, 2003. More

Jellyfish are perhaps the best example of environmental adaptation in the ocean. They are composed of 95 percent water.Unparalleled in diaphanous luminosity, they are also a natural inspiration for lighting elements. More

A spectacular coastal site called for a complementary beach house to integrate with the landscape and take advantage of ocean, light and views: striking the perfect balance between prospect and refuge. Located on Central Queensland's 'Discovery Coast', Springs Beach House harnesses the incredible views of the Coral Sea and across the cresting waves towards the headland at Seventeen Seventy, the site where Captain James Cook first landed in Queensland in 1770. The site is a bushy escarpment, falling dramatically towards the beach and view to the north.The single-storey beach house nestles carefully into the site, paying reverence to the stunning natural landscape, rather than dominating. A sunken grassed courtyard, screened by low walls... More

Located in the heart of Playa del Carmen, Quin­tana Roo, Mexico, a 3,200m2 plot of land neighbors the busiest and most important touristic avenue in the city known as the 5th Avenue, a 5 km long pedestrian-orient­ed street filled with vitality and 24 hour activities. Existing since the early 1980’s flea market type stalls and local restaurants, bars and stores have grasped both interna­tional and national attention. Because of the intensity and vibrancy of the area, the client’s request was to maintain the synergy and a relationship with the street without losing the tranquility and privacy of the hotel guests. Cacao Hotel Boutique had to integrate correct­ly to the street to maintain the vitality of the area and trigger future developments... More

The project is located at 125 km south of Lima city in a beach named “Las Palmeras”. The house is organized into three levels: the first level contains all service areas, garage and guest rooms; the second level comprises the house principal rooms; and the third one is intended to be the social areas: kitchen, living-room, dining-room, terrace and swimming pool. The underlying conceptual proposal seeks to reduce to the minimum the architectonic shapes and forms so as to concentrate all the sight-seeing force on the upper volume, principal figure which seems to be wishing to float over the other levels of the house. More

The ‘Beach House @ Edwards Point’ incorporates an extension and renovation to an existing single storey holiday home. Located within the significant wet lands of Edwards Point and adjacent to Swan Bay on the Bellarine Peninsula, the design concept reflects the owner’s requirements of a sustainable, sensitive and delicate fusion of form and materials that would also nestle into the treed coastal environment. The completed project grasps the opportunity to sustainably re-use, re-cycle, re-work and re-habitate the existing holiday home, maintaining the sentimentality of the existing form and materials, whilst providing a playful and exciting adaptation of the new programmatic requirements of a growing family. The design concept involved... More

Dome untitled #143 Wood dome project Triënnale BeauFort 03 Location 2009 at the beach Middelkerke / Westende ( Belgium ) Artist, Aneas Wilder ( Schotland ) Bild 2009 Demolished 2009 More

The town of Kuressaare got its rights on 1563. There are streets in the town where the streetscape hasn´t changed during the last 100 years. Although it isn´t a conservative community but the building environment is made to last.In the waterfront, this is the fourth beach house in the last 170 years of Kuressaare resort. The building situated between the gulf and one of the best remained fortresses in the region – Kuressaare Castle demanded architectural solution that keeps clear the views to the surrounding and is much as resistant to the span of time as the city itself. Choosing the method of construction concrete was the best way to give the building its postcard like memorable shape, durability and resistance. There are three functional... More

Dungeness beach is a classic example of ‘Non-Plan’ and the houses that populate the beach have developed through improvisation and bodge. This scheme develops this tradition in a way that responds to the drama and harshness of the landscape. El Ray is part of a group of five beach houses located immediately to the east of the huge Dungeness A power station. The original house consisted of a 19th century railway carriage with flimsy lean tos to the north and south. It was in extremely poor condition and too small to accommodate our clients and their growing family. We were asked by our clients to increase the accommodation area by approximately 50%, and dramatically improve the environmental performance of the house. The new house incorp... More