Coastal Home
Kennebunkport, Maine

The owners purchased this small peninsula, within boundaries of a coastal dune, because of its serene views of the beach and unspoiled saltwater marsh teeming with shore birds. As architects, we met several challenges as we tried to incorporate our architecture plans into this unique coastal Maine environment. A 70s house in poor repair with a convoluted foundation was demolished, presenting us with a difficult design problem: how to make cohesive architecture out of a plan which had included a house and several additions. State regulations required that we stay entirely within the outline of the existing foundation and the height and volume of the old house, and yet the owners had a custom home design program which pushed these limits. We solved the problem by designing secondary spaces such as guest bedrooms, baths, and kitchen with no square inch wasted and specific views of the seascape. These were interlocked with the master bedroom and living room, which were fashioned with high ceilings and sweeping views of the beach and marsh. Interwoven with these two kinds of spaces is a range of opportunities for the owners to display their extensive collection of Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese artifacts.