Dock House

Overhanging the seawall’s edge, with the ground dropping abruptly away to Mount Desert Island’s Seal Harbor beach, Dock House separates the public road above from the private serenity of the rocky beach below.  Concrete retaining walls nestle against the ledge outcropping to form the back wall while simultaneously supporting both the sidewalk and road. Clad in native pink granite, the lower level walls connect the structure to the neighboring cliffside landscape, while the house and surrounding upper decks cantilever over the existing seawall, elevating Dock House above the floodplain.

Historically this site held a mix-use, two-story commercial structure that was built in the early 1900’s.  Oriented both along the water, to view incoming vessels and beside the road to allow for easy access, a former fish merchant and local Western Union office prospered.  These businesses valued their proximity to what was then a thriving adjacent “Steamboat Wharf”.  In 1882, James Clement’s Steamboat Wharf inaugurating poem declares:

…”It bears a fine prospect
And stands in from the sea,
The steamers will come in
With their helms to the lee.”

Inspired by the original structure, and considering current regulations and site constraints, the reinvented Dock House developed into a 2,000 square foot two-level structure with surrounding decks and stairs that provides exterior circulation around the house. A small elevator provides an internal connection between the levels. The upper level includes a multipurpose room that can also serve as a car garage, as well as a four-season porch and viewing deck. Private areas are on the lower level and include a living area, kitchen, master bathroom and bedroom.

The exterior materials are subdued and evoke a sense of calm, blending seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. The zinc roof, aluminum windows and doors, stained red cedar siding, and stainless-steel railings provide durability against the harsh salt-water environment. Materials used on the interior echo the subtlety of the exterior. Painted walls, polished concrete and light stained walnut floors continue this simple ethereal palette. The eastern rear walls are clad in black, reminiscent of the subterranean mass that the house is built into. Meanwhile, all heating, ventilation, lighting and shade systems are incorporated into the interior architecture so as not to distract from the aesthetic harmony.

Almost as a feat of metamorphosis, the antiquated, constrained, internally orientated “Boathouse” reemerged on the same footprint as a multi-functional externally embracing “Dock House“, overhanging the seawall’s edge.