This 1918 cottage had been flooded when Superstorm Sandy blew across Fire Island. Our clients purchased what remained, essentially four walls and a roof.

They had a very tight budget to transform the shell into a summer home. Their immediate concern was how to protect their investment from another storm. We realized keeping the water out would be expensive and unwise. Rather than resist the storm waters, we embraced them and proposed a house that is water permeable, allowing water to come and go with the least amount of damage.

The floors are marine-grade plywood. The new insulation is a non-molding rigid insulation. The wallboard is bead-board pattern PVC sheeting which, when painted, gives no clue that it is anything other than wood. Above that height the walls are multi-wall polycarbonate to allow light to flow between the rooms. The electrical lines run down the walls rather than up from the floor.

Aside from white and black, the only two colors in the house are the colors of flora indigenous to Fire Island: Dusty Miller and Beach Goldenrod.

Photographs © Paul Warchol