If you live near a body of water and have set up gear on the beach for a day, you understand resistance. As soon as you step foot on the sand, your heels sink, and different muscles begin to engage as you plod and tread to your destination. What was an unconscious action is now thoughtful. Along the way, the breeze brushes against your skin, cooling you, bringing smells of wet sand and warm sunscreen in tropical undertones. If you’re fortunate enough for the breeze to be stronger, a light wind, then you anticipate a glorious day but engage in a little more effort to reach your destination. Once you have “arrived,” you set up and begin to twist your umbrella into the sand. The deeper the staff goes, the harder it becomes to turn; until, with a sigh, you decide that is far enough. It is the beginning of a perfect day, filled with sounds of the crashing waves, murmurs of conversations, giddy laughter, cries of the gulls looming above; sun, sand, and air-kissing your skin.
If you’re fortunate enough, you’ll be with family and friends, or perhaps your sojourn is for a moment in time alone. But, no matter the reason for the escape to the shore, no matter how far you traveled to arrive, being along the coast latches onto a memory, unlike any other experience. The affair becomes rooted in your memory because of the pilgrimage you took to get there and the resistance you overcame. Walking in the sand, leaning into the breeze, forcing a pole into the wet sandy earth, these acts become unremarkable because thoughts were elsewhere, the time after, the future.
Designing a home for some of my clients is like a day on the beach. A pile foundation is designed similarly to a beach umbrella being set. There is a certain depth and force to be met for the home to be secure. We create a home to resist the elements, the wind, yet the cooling ocean breeze needs to be captured, a contrast to be met with skill and nuance. If successful, my clients will live in their homes, and it will be effortless, unlike the trek across the sand. Things will flow from the time they walk in, drop their gear, and travel to their haven within the house. The home will live and breathe and have a spirit forever evolving just as the sand gets sculpted by the ocean. The spaces within will fill with sounds, murmurs of conversations, giddy laughter; cries of sadness.
Entertain with family and friends no problem; need a moment of solitude to gather your thoughts; it’s there. High ceilings or low ceilings, an architect can alter and design a home three-dimensionally to provide a space for living a life that is as unpredictable as the sea. With Virtual Reality, my clients can experience the dynamic features we have planned for them before excavation begins. The process is a journey, an adventure, and an intimate escapade. So come spend a little time with us, let us explore together what is possible, because you’ll feel the difference when you finally arrive.