Home & Design
Swimming pool - Backyard
Swimming pool - Backyard

Marta Hansen designed a cabana on the Eastern Shore to mimic a historic well house. Photo © Celia Pearson

Ask the Pros: Architecture

Advice on designing the perfect home by the bay

Ask the Pros: Architecture Describe the challenges and rewards of designing waterfront architecture, specific to the bay.

I have found that the rewards far outweigh the challenges when I’m designing a home on waterfront property. These sites have an inherent sense of place, and capturing and enhancing their unique features is what directs a great design. Framing views, integrating outdoor spaces, organizing rooms around natural daylight, preserving privacy and ensuring multiple fronts that open to the water—these factors add up to a composition where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To protect their uniqueness, waterfront properties also come with layers of complex environmental and zoning regulations. Thoroughly understanding these rules and regulations allows architects to take opportunities not initially obvious to those with less experience.

—Marta Hansen, AIA, LEED AP, Hansen Architects, Annapolis, Maryland


 

You may also like:

Outdoor Oasis
Fresh Look
Winn Design+Build imbues a faded Rockville contemporary with curb appeal galore
Luxe Refuge
Tranquility rules in a Kent Island bedroom
HOME&DESIGN, published bi-monthly by Homestyles Media Inc., is the premier magazine of architecture and fine interiors for the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region.

The company also publishes an annual H&D Sourcebook of ideas and resources for homeowners and professionals alike. H&D Chesapeake Views is published bi-annually and showcases fine home design and luxury living in and around the Chesapeake Bay.

The H&D Portfolio of 100 Top Designers spotlights the superior work of selected architects, interior designers and landscape architects in major regions of the US.

Stay Connected with HOME & DESIGN Newsletter

Copyright © 2024 Home & Design. All rights reserved. | Back to top
magnifier