A compound by the ocean in the Hamptons? Yep. Designed by one of the best architectural firms in the area? Indeed. Lap pool? Acres of reserve in back and in front? A stunning minimalist interior? Yes, yes, and yes!
Comprising a main house plus a cottage in back, the striking compound was designed by Bates Masi + Architects and completed in 2017. Now listed for sale with Timothy O’Connor at Brown Harris Stevens, the two-story main house was inspired by the Amagansett Life-Saving Station, a local landmark that happens to lie across the street. Built more than a century ago and recently restored, the station was part of a network of structures used to provide rescue and relief for shipwrecked sailors. (It was from here that a Coast Guardsman noticed Nazi soldiers coming ashore from a U-boat in June, 1942 — the only time enemy soldiers have landed on the mainland United States.) Designed with lookout towers, weather-protected cupolas and elevated decks, the stations offered numerous perches for crews to survey the horizon.
Bates Masi + Architects pays clear tribute to that design with this house, which also offers a number of elevated decks and opportunities to take in the views. In a modern reinterpretation of the way Life-Saving Service members hung boats and lifesaving apparatus from the station’s wooden post and beam structure, the house features an exposed steel structure that defines the main living spaces, creating a framework onto which lighting and maybe even a surfboard can be hung. On the exterior, a series of bronze bars hang the thick cedar siding boards in place without fastening through the wood, allowing the boards to expand and contract naturally with changes of temperature and humidity.
In order to make the most of light and views, the main house features an upside-down configuration common to the Hamptons, with the living and entertaining spaces on the second floor and the bedrooms on the ground floor. The main living area is filled with light thanks to floor-to-ceiling walls of glass, while the interior appointments are elegant and minimal, with white oak floors and ceilings anchored by black steel beams. The ground floor includes a family room with kitchenette and three en-suite bedrooms, including the main bedroom with its own private deck. Extra special and bespoke touches include the beautiful floating staircase in the main house and the oar-like steel screening that runs along the driveway.
