Jim Biber, FAIA, worked with his clients for seven years on this residential compound on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Montauk, New York. But instead of being exhausted by the long process, with its delays in approvals and construction, everyone involved in the project readily admitted their love for design kept them motivated and engaged from start to finish. Biber, a partner at the international design firm Pentagram, has designed 12 projects for the clients, a couple, including this one. He describes the clients as more patrons than owners. They in turn have succinctly presented their point of view: “We could buy a Picasso, but this was a lot more fun.”

Inspiration for the project came from Midcentury Modernism, in particular the Case Study Houses program, run by Arts & Architecture magazine in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s.