Ziger Snead Architects' Dune House on Fenwick Island Features Cantilevered Terraces

Baltimore-based Ziger Snead Architects has completed Dune House, a three-storey vacation home on Fenwick Island, Delaware, designed for a family with decades of summering on the island. The bar-shaped residence adheres to a 35-foot height restriction and is clad in Accoya wood, left unfinished to weather in the salt air. The east elevation features wide cantilevered terraces overlooking the beach and Atlantic Ocean, with the roof extending outward to form a trellis-like eave. The ground level, which could potentially flood, houses a mudroom, garage, gym, and beach storage, while the middle floor contains a lounge and four bedrooms with ocean views. The top floor holds the communal zone and primary bedroom, opening onto a terrace cantilevering 17 feet over the dunes. The design incorporates breakaway construction at ground level for flood resilience. Interior materials are muted, with custom concrete sinks and a coffee table made with sand from the adjacent beach, and a dining table crafted from a fallen ash tree in Baltimore. The project was featured on Dezeen on September 2, 2026, with photography by Jennifer Hughes.