2014 BOY Winner: Beach/Country House

Weekenders from the big city have a well-deserved reputation for grand aspirations. An oceanfront house that Interior Design Hall of Fame member Lee Mindel built as part of a 42-acre compound is rather modest by local standards, just 4,000 square feet. Certainly the owners felt that was too small for entertaining, and they asked Mindel for a separate party place, one that could seat around 100 for dinner. The problem, if one cares to call it that, was a town regulation limiting the size of any single accessory structure to 600 square feet. However, one can construct as many of these little pavilions as necessary as long as they’re separated from one another by 5 feet. His ingenious solution involved three 600-square-footers clad in the unfinished Oregon cedar used throughout the property. Two are air-conditioned, while skip-sheathing allows breezes to pass through the third. Though each sits on a separate foundation, sited in a row with the requisite separations, decks serve as connectors between opposite sets of sliding glass doors. Awnings of waterproof cotton canvas can be added to shelter the gaps. No rain date required.

Project Team: Michael Neal; Marc Newman; Grace V. Sierra; Margaret O’Connor.