Down a long, U-shaped gravel drive and surrounded by palm trees and Spanish-moss-shrouded live oaks, the Low-Country Residence opens onto Shem Creek in the Charleston, South Carolina, suburb of Mount Pleasant. On a cloudless spring afternoon, as a pelican coasts on the breeze and pleasure boats cruise along the creek to the nearby marina, it’s hard to imagine the harsh turn the weather can take here. Considering that, Raleigh, North Carolina–based architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, has designed a house that takes nature’s good with its bad by inviting the sublime light and views in while also protecting against the elements. “The house feels remarkably open,” says Harmon, “but at the same time, it is a place of refuge and shelter.”

The client, a doctor, wanted a home with a large living area that he could share with his son, and ample work space for restoring old cars and boats. An avid bird-watcher and fisherman, he envisioned a house of glass that would bring him closer to the salt marsh and the variety of wildlife it attracts.