Walking Dunes

Set within a shifting dune landscape, the Walking Dunes residence rethinks conventional coastal construction. Traditionally, homes in these environments are raised on timber piles with heavy cross bracing to resist waves and storm debris, but that approach often leaves the space below uninhabitable and vulnerable to erosion. This project instead adapts the logic of the sand fence—a familiar element of dune ecologies—to create a structure that both stabilizes the landscape and provides livable space beneath the elevated home.

The building rises nine feet above grade for flood protection and to accommodate outdoor living areas below. A grid of slender steel columns supports the structure, while radial steel bracing arrays are calibrated to slow wind and capture sand, reinforcing the dunes around the foundation. The pattern varies in density to shape functional spaces: enclosing areas for mechanical equipment, outdoor showers, and parking, while opening up others to create shaded breezeways and gathering spaces.

Above, the residence is composed of four volumes, each with its own covered deck, linked by glass connectors that reduce perceived mass and bring light to the spaces below. The result transforms the necessities of coastal building into an architectural language that balances resilience, livability, and material clarity.

The superstructure employs hybrid timber and engineered wood components. Timber pilings with pile caps anchor the foundation, while timberstrand studs frame exterior walls. TJIs form the structural floor and roof systems, paired with laminated veneer lumber where additional strength is required. Dimensional lumber defines the interior partitions, reinforcing the material economy and adaptability of wood in a coastal context.