Coastal architecture
An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about coastal architecture
Project • By IQ Glass UK • Private Houses
Hidden House
Coastal Glazing for a New Build Home Embedded Within the LandscapeSet into the rugged landscape of Cornwall's north coast, Hidden House is a contemporary coastal residence designed by Loyn + Co Architects. Conceived as a low-profile structure that sits discreetly within its sensitive setting, the new-build home demonstrates how architecture can respond to a challenging environment while maintaining a strong connection to the surrounding landscape.
Recently shortlisted for the Concrete Society Awards 2026, the project combines exposed concrete, natural materials and expansive areas of architectural glazing to create light-filled interiors with uninterrupted views of the dramatic coastline.
To realise the architect's vision, IQ Glass delive... More
Project • By IQ Glass UK • Private Houses
Orestone End
High-Performance Coastal Glazing for a Cliffside Home in SalcombeOrestone End is a five-storey private residence positioned above the shoreline on Cliff Road in Salcombe, Devon. As part of a comprehensive renovation led by Harrison Sutton Partnership, IQ Glass designed and installed a package of 26 bespoke architectural glazing elements across the property.
The design brief centred on maximising panoramic views of the South Devon coastline while ensuring that the glazing could withstand the demanding conditions of an exposed marine location. Minimal sliding doors, frameless structural glazing, casement windows and bespoke circular windows were selected to provide clear sightlines, natural light and access to coastal terraces.
The glazing... More
Project • By Hacin • Private Houses
Oyster Pond House
Oyster Pond House, a Cape Cod vacation home in Chatham, comprises the preservation of an original 19th century residence married with a two-story contemporary addition.
Chris Cooper Photography
Chris Cooper Photography
The residence, overlooking Oyster Pond in Chatham, transforms a historic farmhouse into a gathering place for modern living that takes full advantage of its elevated site, expanding and reorganizing interior and exterior living areas to maximize views to the ocean while drawing inspiration from elemental forms and the surrounding vernacular.
Chris Cooper Photography
Chris Cooper Photography
Clean, fresh, and durable interiors balance traditional coastal elements, utilizing a palette inspired... More
Project • By buck&simple • Private Houses
Sasso Nero
Sasso Nero is a bespoke contemporary residence on Sydney's Northern Beaches, where architecture, landscape and topography are conceived as a single composition. Responding to its bushland setting and coastal climate, the home demonstrates a site-specific approach to residential architecture grounded in materiality, craftsmanship and environmental performance.
Organised around outdoor living, the home dissolves the threshold between inside and out. Courtyards, carefully framed openings and subtle changes in level draw the surrounding bushland into everyday life while balancing privacy, natural light and cross ventilation. Rather than dominating its setting, the architecture works with the landscape to create a calm, immersive living e... More
Project • By NUTRO studio • Private Houses
CLIFF VILLA
Built into the base of a coastal cliff in Turkey, CLIFF VILLA is a 400 m² residence that treats architecture as a continuation of the landscape rather than an intrusion on it. Designed by NUTRO studio for a young couple seeking privacy and proximity to the sea, the three-bedroom home reveals itself gradually — first the rock, then the architecture emerging beneath its overhang.
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The façade balances two materials in dialogue: vertical pylons in natural Antolini stone and horizontal Corten steel roofing and canopies. The rust tone of the steel echoes the surrounding dry grasses and the cliffside, while the stone's veining visually ties the structure to the mountain itself.... More
Project • By Neutelings Riedijk Architecten • Offices
Heldentoren
At the Belgian coast, where sea, landscape and city converge, the Heldentoren introduces a new landmark while carefully reconnecting an important piece of the urban fabric.
© Sarah Blee | Neutelings Riedijk Architects
© Sarah Blee | Neutelings Riedijk Architects
© Sempergreen
The project occupies the former Casino Kursaal site in Knokke-Heist, overlooking the North Sea and the Heldenplein. Rather than treating the commission as the design of a residential tower alone, the ambition was to create an entire urban ensemble that strengthens the relationship between the town centre, the seafront promenade and the public square. Density becomes a means to improve the city, creating new public space, generous pedestri... More
Project • By Seiro Arquitectos • Private Houses
CASA GINA
Located in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, Casa Gina rises before the Pacific as the embodiment of a simple yet powerful principle: architecture’s responsibility is not to compete with the natural environment, but to blend with it. Its design favors toward neutrality, allowing the ocean to be the main character of color and excitement; thus, the landscape becomes the very essence of the work.
César Belio
César Belio
The space in Casa Gina is organized in three levels. The main level is the heart of the social life of the home in a double-height living area with kitchen and dining space, where there are no tangible boundaries between the indoor spaces, the ocean breeze, the whispering of the waves, and the fragrance of hi... More
Project • By Kirsten Johnstone Architecture • Private Houses
Veil & Co. House
Idyllically located in a Sunshine Coast hamlet wedged between nature reserves, Currimundi Lake and the surf beach, Veil + Co. House is a multigenerational co-living coastal residence. With an atypical entry and a deeply setback main dwelling, the project reinterprets traditional Queensland housing for contemporary living, showcasing flexible accommodation and high levels of privacy.
Alanna Jayne McTiernan
This new home needed to flexibly accommodate grandparents or Airbnb guests while also providing adaptable long term family living along with work-from-home requirements for both parents. Visual and acoustic privacy required particular attention to suit a multigenerational or shared accommodation arrangement with the clients’ yo... More
Project • By IQ Glass UK • Private Houses
Topwood
Topwood is a new-build coastal home showcasing marine-grade glazing in Salcombe, designed for an exposed salt-air environment. Large-format glazing opens this award-winning house to sun terraces and sea views.
The brief was to maximise glass and keep the architecture visually calm while standing up to coastal conditions. All aluminium profiles were finished RAL 7039 Matt (Quartz Grey) with a marine-grade coating, and the envelope was engineered to an assumed site wind load of 1,100 Pa. With a whole-house MVHR strategy, no trickle vents were required, preserving clean sightlines; an approach well suited to marine-grade glazing in Salcombe where uninterrupted views are the priority.
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Primary living areas connect to the terraces... More
Project • By K-Thengono Design Studio • Private Houses
From Inside Looking Out
From Inside Looking Out is a four-story residence designed for a couple who wanted an airy family home with a tropical resort ambiance. Situated in Jakarta’s upscale Pantai Mutiara neighborhood, the site features an east-west orientation, with the eastern side overlooking a canal and the western side facing the main street and a busy cafe. K-Thengono Design Studio utilizes this orientation to arrange the building's programs based on their contextual views.
Indra Wiras
Indra Wiras
Indra Wiras
Indra Wiras
The residence comprises two distinct blocks connected by a central circulation space. The western block accommodates the bedrooms, while the eastern block contains the living and dining areas. The circulation conne... More
Project • By Work Program Architects • Offices
Elizabeth River Project's Ryan Resilience Lab
Elizabeth River Project, a growing non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Elizabeth River, has developed a brand-new, nationally-recognized “Resilience Lab” in the rapidly redeveloping North Colley neighborhood. The focus of the project is to demonstrate accessible, approachable methods of resilience and sustainability for the homeowner, developer, or small business owner.
Yuzhu Zheng
Yuzhu Zheng
Yuzhu Zheng
Yuzhu Zheng
The new building is located on an urban site, formerly a small marina and social club, situated between bustling Colley Avenue and Knitting Mill Creek. The river-facing site has been redeveloped with a living shoreline replacing the aging bulkhead,... More
Project • By Sangrah • Restaurants
Kiki-by the Sea
Goa’s popular coastal restaurant Kiki–by the Sea has revealed an exciting new chapter in its story with the unveiling of a beautifully designed first-floor extension. The project, which blends tropical elegance with whimsical design details, was masterfully executed by Sangrah, a Goa-based interior design studio led by Shreeya Singh. This second phase of Kiki offers patrons a captivating blend of coastal charm, tranquil aesthetics, and a seamless connection with nature.
Anish Padalkar [APStudioworks]
Kiki–by the Sea is more than just a restaurant—it’s a design marvel that takes full advantage of its spectacular location, with expansive views of the bay and river. This unique coastal property is a refreshi... More
Project • By LifeSpaces Group • Private Houses
Torquay Garden House
Presenting the Torquay Garden House by Lifespaces Group—a Geelong-based builder crafting exclusive designs in collaboration with Australia’s foremost architects. Nestled along Victoria’s Surf Coast, this project is from the Auhaus Release by Melbourne-based Auhaus Architecture.
Nikole Ramsay
Nikole Ramsay
The home's standout façade is a composition of copper, brick and timber. Over time,the copper’s surface will develop a natural patina, transitioning from deep brown toweathered blue, eventually acquiring a greenish tone. This natural transformationoccurs in response to the coastal environment, protecting the metal beneath.
Nikole Ramsay
Nikole Ramsay
Central to the design is a private co... More
Project • By Carr • Private Houses
Coastal Compound
Undulating and nestled into the coastal landscape, this dwelling in the Mornington Peninsula is a family compound designed for rest and play.
Timothy Kaye
Located on a large and rare block in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Coastal Compound is a private residence primed for life along the coast. We wanted a singular and pure form that hugged the natural contours set deep into the site to capture the sun year-round. To achieve this, we worked the levels of the house to the specific topography of the site.
Timothy Kaye
For the positioning of the double-storey dwelling, Carr oriented the home around an existing Moonah tree, which was unfortunately lost during a storm within the first year of the project’s development.... More
Project • By Architects Magnus • Private Houses
The Miller
Flashback to 2011 when the Millers lived in a 570sf beach cottage on a narrow lot. We created a budget-friendly expansion by stretching the simple form, and they happily lived there for nearly a decade. When the family grew, they found a property in the same coastal community, a stepping stone from the last. The transition was easy for the kids because the last home inspired the new design.
Ian Patzke
What once was a simple form on a narrow lot became side-by-side forms on a wider lot. The stairwell in between separates private and public spaces and acts as a lightwell and thermal chimney to let hot air escape through skylights. We focused on low-maintenance materials that could withstand proximity to the ocean.
Ian Patzke... More