Office of Architecture’s unconventional Hamptons house raises the bar

Lifting up three zinc-clad volumes high above the ground was not originally part of the vision for this house. The owners of Watermill house, a New York-based family, had imagined a classic Hampton’s style home for their weekend and summer holidays when they bought their delightful seaside plot of land.
When Aniket Shahane, OA principal and lead architect on the project, took the project on he found the site to be a ‘charming, but very “atypical” lot’ – yet it's clear that the site was somewhat of a troublesome child (who you can’t help but love). ‘The site is in a flood zone with half the lot occupied by protected wetlands,’ he says of the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) listed piece of land.
Yet, presented with a challenge, Shahane rallied and created a home worthy of the landscape which it has become a part of, ticking all the ‘Hamptons house’ boxes – spacious, homely, comfortable, open plan and connected to the outdoors and most of all, an breath of fresh air, or sea breeze, from New York.
The 6000 sq ft house rises above the difficult FEMA floodplain that it is built on
‘The main challenge was to find a way to turn the restrictions of the low-lying landscape into assets,’ he says. This became the defining factor of the unconventional plan: ‘By organising the design into three elevated volumes, we were able to keep all the heated areas and critical infrastructure – living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, mechanical spaces – above the floodplain.’
So, the house is top heavy, liberating the main living spaces to become sun catchers, exposed to elevated views of the landscape. With the main mass raised above the floodplain, Shahane has some space to play with at ground level: ‘The interstitial spaces between these volumes and the ground fostered a series of useful and playful outdoor rooms that include a carport, an outdoor kitchen, a courtyard, a pool lounge, a terrarium, and roof terraces.’
The house is visually interesting, yet also unobstrusive on the landscape
‘Most of our work is in New York City which, in and of itself, is an incredibly demanding site. In New York, we find ourselves constantly fighting for space – whether it's trying to catch the F train at rush hour or working on the design of a narrow house in which every inch counts. Ironically, when we finally got a project outside the city in the Hamptons, we found ourselves still doing the exact same thing – trying to squeeze out as much useful space as possible.’
Without the demands of the site, the unique house may have become much more conventional. ‘One of my favorite features is how the wall at the edge of the lap pool extends up to support the family wing above, giving the impression that the house is delicately hovering above water,’ says Shahane.
While quite severe in its geometry – the edges of the upper volumes strike a powerful shapes against the landscape, the house omits a warmth derived from the darkness of the zinc cladding and the natural materials used throughout. ‘We loved how the zinc complemented the cedar and limestone which are the two other primary materials on the exterior,’ says Shahane. The exterior clear western red cedar battens and Jerusalem grey-gold limestone, used for the downstairs floors, patios and walls, soften the zinc, blending it to the landscape.
Jerusalem grey-gold limestone has been used for the downstairs floors, patios and walls
The house consists of three zinc-clad volumes including a public, guest and family wings
Zinc was chosen for its durable properties to withstand the windy seaside climate
While the indoor living areas are hoisted up onto the first floor, the ground floor space is utilised for outdoor living
Mahogany wood is used on the stair and window frames
The interiors, with lots of light and natural materials, are warm and inviting
Aniket Shahane, OA principal and lead architect on the project, was challenged by the protected wetland site
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Office of Architecture website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
Discover Canadian modernist Daniel Evan White’s pitch-perfect homes
Canadian architect Daniel Evan White (1933-2012) had a gift for using the landscape to create extraordinary homes; revisit his story in an article from the Wallpaper* archives (first published in 2011)
-
The standout shows of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: Dolce & Gabbana to Paul Smith
Wallpaper* picks the very best of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026, from a Dolce & Gabbana pyjama party to Paul Smith’s travel-inspired Milan debut
-
Paul Smith on his ‘lovely and simple’ Milan Fashion Week debut, which has been decades in the making
Wallpaper* caught up with Paul Smith ahead of his travel-inspired S/S 2026 menswear show, held in his Milanese HQ as an expression of his longstanding love of Italy
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio
-
A refreshed Rockefeller Wing reopens with a bang at The Met in New York
The Met's Michael C Rockefeller Wing gets a refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast's WHY Architecture, bringing light, air and impact to the galleries devoted to arts from Africa, Oceania and the Ancient Americas