From the Archive: A Modernist Beach Shack in East Hampton That Cost Only $150K to Build

Welcome to From the Archive, a look back at stories from Dwell’s past. This story previously appeared in the August 2002 issue.    

It started out as an experiment: Ken Kuchin wanted to build a cabin on his empty beach property for only $150,000. This early retiree and his architect, Preston Phillips, moved a stand around to test the views before choosing a site seven feet above grade. Phillips’ original, rather ambitious scheme was scaled back to what he now calls a "butterfly-roofed shoe-box." That it ended up beautiful proves Charles Eames dictum that "design depends largely on constraints."

"I’m not going to put art in the house because the windows frame the art," says collector Kuchin. Though Kuchin and his partner, Bruce Anderson, spend most weekends at their larger home across town, he comes by every morning to walk on the beach. "The way the house sits up high on the pilings is my favorite aspect," says Anderson. "I think it looks very safe and secure." To furnish the house, the pair chose unique furnishings like the Hans Wegner chairs.

"The house fits within the modernist vein of East Hampton houses I studied when I was in architecture school," Phillips explains. "They were modern and used cheap materials." Phillips continued this tradition with PVC pipe railings and plywood interior finishes straight from Home Depot. The house’s top windows have a sensor that closes them automatically when it rains—a concession to the only luxury building material, the natural cork floor.