Plover by Fuse Architects
Disappearing into the Pajaro Dunes, Plover by Fuse Architects is a modest yet masterful reimagining of a coastal Californian bunker. As a weekend escape for a family of five, the home has been carefully remodelled to honour its beachside setting while enhancing its connection to light, space and views.
The residence is embedded in a beach community on the shoreline of Monterey Bay, just south of Santa Cruz. “When our clients approached us, they had been looking for a home to get away from the busy life of Silicon Valley, and a place to relax and retreat,” says architect Dan Gomez. For Gomez and fellow architect Dan Townsend, the project was about uncovering potential rather than starting from scratch. “The architecture of the existing home seemed to be set perfectly in the dune,” says Townsend. “We just needed to open it up to the ocean.”
Working within strict regulations on size and height became a key driver of the design. “Sometimes they’re viewed as a challenge,” says Townsend, “but we view them as opportunities in design response.” Rather than expanding the home’s footprint, the architects focused on enhancing the spatial experience. “How do you make the house feel bigger? How do you make it feel more light and airy?” says Gomez. “You open the view. You work with the material palette and how you tie that sense to nature, so that when you’re inside, you feel like you’re immersed in the exterior environment.”
Expansive windows frame the coastal vista, emphasising the feeling of being just steps from the sand and allowing natural light to pour in. The interiors are restrained yet warm, with plaster walls, light oak floors and painted timber ceilings. “We like to have architecture that doesn’t require lights to be turned on in the daytime,” says Townsend. “And so some of the materials were chosen for that reason and the light colours on the inside of the house were to bring light and brightness to the interior of the home.”
“The architecture of the existing home seemed to be set perfectly in the dune,” says Townsend. “We just needed to open it up to the ocean.”
Externally, western red cedar siding and a standing seam metal roof tie the home to its West Coast context. “With the dark exterior, it also helps accentuate the bunker, feel that it’s heavier and grounded within its environment,” says Gomez.
But it’s the experience of arrival that perhaps best captures the home’s transformation. “My favourite part is the reveal,” says Townsend. “You enter the door, turn to the right, take a few steps and you realise, wow, I’m right here on the beach.”
Architecture by Fuse Architects. Interior design by Rebekah Shaffer and Fuse Architects. Build by Hagen Colbert. Engineering by Cascadia Engineering. Furniture by Stephen Kenn, Kieran Kinsella and Simon Lamason. Artwork by Nate VanHook and Scott Patt Studio.
