OCEAN HOUSE WITH AN ELEVATED COURTYARD

2021-

This house is on the Atlantic Ocean at the end of a road and next to a public beach access. The narrow western end of the deep lot is too narrow to build on but there is an extraordinary ocean frontage. The south property line angles. 

The house has a raised pool courtyard, an atrium, onto which most every room faces. Principal rooms also face the ocean. All but two bedrooms are on the main level of the house, twelve feet above grade. This provides a nice entry to the house from the west, and good views of the beach over the primary dune.

The entry axis ascends in a straight line from the west. The atrium garden, running north-south is hidden until you are upon it, and then it opens to the south. The inside and outside corners of the house are used to help make the shapes of the entry garden and the atrium, integrating the house and the gardens. 

An ocean porch affords an outdoor area for temperate or hot weather when ocean breezes are welcome. The atrium provides protection from ocean winds and a place to gather when the ocean goes dark at night.