Finally, in 1959 a Beach House Project was rendered by Venturi. This house echoed the guiding principles of what Venturi believed architecture should represent whether in his own work of the Venturi house or in Le Corbusier’s design of the postmodern Villa Savoye.
Because of the ocean’s proximity to the beach house, location and orientation play an important role in how its’ design functions. The house’s architecture is simple based on the expectation that the residents will spend most of their time outside. When inside, the house’s design also reflects minimalism so as not to distract from the beauty of the beach.
There is a terrace on the front facade to maximize access to beach views. Similarly to the Venturi house, there are many different sized windows on the back facade. The two houses also share a dominant chimney. In the beach house, the chimney is vertically aligned to the doorway and rises high compared to the relative height of the house. Both the chimney and the back facade pronounce this building as a house.
Venturi designed this keeping in mind that he wanted only two prominent elevations, the front and the back. The sides are negligible, with no windows or defining features. The front differs dramatically from the back to emphasize the direction towards the ocean.
Like the Villa Savoye, the house also stands on thin beams giving it a floating effect which highlights its’ purpose as a beach house with close proximity to the water. Also similarly to the Villa Savoye, asymmetrical proportions are displayed on the exterior frame.
The chimney, for example, is off center. It also divides the roof, breaking it off at the highest point and creating the tension which Venturi keeps referring to. When you look at the roof your eye is usually directed to the apex, but the sudden intrusion of the chimney right above the doorway creates a more complex unexpected composition.
While the interior space is not elaborated on because the house was never actually constructed, the plan shows mostly open space with the largest area acting as the focal point facing the terrace looking out to the ocean.
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