The Long Island House sits within a densely packed stretch of beachfront property along the coast of Long Island New York. This 5500 sq. ft home with six bedrooms and seven baths overlooks mild sand dunes that frame the broad expanse of the Atlantic. As such, views of the ocean were a priority in planning the design – which posed a question as to how to achieve views from every room from within the deep set lot.

FEMA requires the house to be elevated above the ground plane creating a “house on legs” where a carport for four cars and a glass entry lobby is located. From here, a glass enclosed stair tower that wraps around a wood clad elevator takes one up to the two-level house. The stacked wood cladding acts as a ”tree trunk” that vertically connects all floors and creates an accent to the home’s crisp clean lines.

The building mass is broken into four linear bars containing private and public spaces that stack upon each other in a criss-cross fashion leaving the interstitial areas to serve as decks or balconies. The first level consists of major common areas plus pool deck with the master bedroom and office on the floor above.

Expansive walls of glass create a see-through house from almost every direction even for rooms relegated towards the back. Each individual room is given multitudinous views as well. This visual transparency translates into a physical model for natural cross-ventilation in almost every direction thru-out the house.

The office, considered one of the more important spaces, sits front and center with 180 degree views of the ocean while overlooking the livingroom’s 20 feet high space. Framing the entire house is a delicate steel “exo-skeleton” that ties the exterior together into an implied cubic volume. Privacy is softly regulated by shear white PVC mesh or “veils” attached within the framework, especially in the more exposed areas.

At night, the house becomes a glowing white lantern with brief glimpses of domestic activity beyond. The pool deck is integrated into the house extending out from the living room interior and has limitless views of the ocean, even though it is situated towards the back. A glass “portal” in the swimming pool wall allows views into the pool from the courtyard.

Garden walls made of steel fabric woven into light-weight frames are applied to the exterior base providing protection/privacy as well as to hide the somewhat heavy nature of the structural columns.