A winding road through a grassy landscape with trees and a pond, leading to a house near the coast with an ocean view in the background.
Curving gravel pathway through tall, golden grasses in a countryside landscape with a modern house in the background under a blue sky.
Black and white photo of a winding road with trees on the side and a house in the background.
A grassy pathway running alongside a large house with wooden shingles, and a tree in front of the house, with open field and blue sky in the background.
Close-up of the corner of a wooden building with shingle siding, a gravel bed, and a metallic striped ramp on a grassy lawn.
A landscaped garden area with a tree, green grass, a paved walkway, and a modern building with horizontal slats in the background.
A scenic view of a park with green grassy areas, bushes, trees, a body of water, and a sky with clouds.
A grassy field with a winding path leading to modern houses in the distance, under a clear blue sky.
A house among grassy dunes and shrubs under a blue sky with wispy clouds.
A grassy pathway runs through a field of tall grass and shrubs, with trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
A white modern outdoor lounge chair on green grass near trees, with an open field and overcast sky in the background.
View of a beach landscape showing a wooden patio in the foreground, tall golden grass, green bushes, and the ocean with a cloudy sky in the background.
Beachscape with a sandy pathway through grassy dunes, green bushes, and a blue ocean under a clear sky.
A peaceful lake with water lilies and green vegetation, a modern house in the background, under a clear blue sky.
A peaceful scene of a lake surrounded by pink and white flowers, with green trees in the background and a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Originally designed by modernist architect Norman Jaffe in the 1970s, this award-winning home faced severe erosion over time. When LaGuardia Design Group began work, the house had been moved 400 feet inland to a low-lying cornfield. The challenge was to recreate a coastal dune landscape that would both ground the structure and withstand the forces of wind, water, and rising sea levels.

To rebuild the site, LDG needed 30,000 cubic yards of fill that would be enough to reconstruct protective dunes and conceal new additions beneath the original design. Rather than import material, the team excavated a 60,000-square-foot pond that provided the necessary fill and introduced a natural water feature scaled to the site. Its curving “disappearing” shoreline, inspired by historic English landscapes, enhances the sense of depth and openness without dominating the view.

The house is now anchored within a restored dune system planted with beach grass and a mix of meadow species like fescue, bluestem, and switchgrass. The pond’s edge supports native wetland vegetation and aquatic life, completing a self-sustaining coastal ecosystem that revives Jaffe’s vision while ensuring long-term resilience.

PROJECT TEAM | Norman Jaffe - Christian Sabella Rosa Contractors - Kiwi Construction - Fort Pond Native