NAUTILUS HOUSE
LIGHT, CONTEXT, & RESILIENCY
SANIBEL, FL
Sanibel Island is a landscape in flux. A shallow layer of sand and shells draped over ancient limestone, it is continually reshaped by storms and ocean currents. Juan Ponce de León sighted the crescent-shaped barrier island in 1513, and in 1832 it became home to one of America’s earliest planned communities. A conservation ethic endures: by 1945, its fragile wetlands and turtle nesting grounds were designated a National Wildlife Refuge.
Along this shore, sandpipers and plovers forage through “wave chasing,” their bodies lifted above the surf on lean legs. This adaptation inspired the Nautilus House, elevated sixteen feet above sea level on slender columns to meet FEMA floodplain clearances and withstand increasingly severe storm surges that batter the site, despite the 600’ dune habitat between the house and the Gulf. During construction, three hurricanes (Ian 2022, Helene 2024, Milton 2024) devastated surrounding buildings and causeways, yet the “wave chasing” structure endured.
Within strict height limitations, two floors are nested through spatial and structural innovation. A spiraling roof—echoing seashell morphology—is draped across carved volumes and broad overhangs that shade while inviting reflected light. Primary walls pinwheel around a central stair, providing lateral stiffness while allowing intertwined spaces to unfold as doorless chambers, offering shifting openness, privacy, and framed Gulf views.
Skylights and cantilevered overhangs choreograph the body’s ascent, culminating in dynamic light play. In the age of the Anthropocene, the Nautilus House embodies resilience, ecological attunement, and architectural performance resonant with its sublime coastal landscape.
Design: LA DALLMAN Architects
Photography: Iwan Baan
Landscape Architect: Coastal Vista Design
Structural Engineer: Silman
Pool Structural Engineer: Atlas Structural Engineering LLC.
Civil Engineer: Haley Ward
Coastal Engineer: Humiston & Moore Engineers
AV Design: Ultra Fidelis
Client: Withheld at owner’s request
Contractor: BUILD, LLC.
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