WHITE SANDS

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, CALIFORNIA

Sitting above the sand dunes overlooking the Pacific, White Sands takes its name from the beach sand at this site: its unique mineral composition lends it a pale grey color, rendering it a near-white when lit by the sun.

Sketch of White Sands residence
White Sands residence on Carmel beach
White Sands residence incorporates sand wall
White Sands residence dining room

White sand from the site was compacted to form a central rammed-earth wall in the home.

Carefully placed skylights leverage the wall's thermal mass to collect heat during the day. As temperatures drop throughout the cool oceanfront nights, the wall radiates heat back to the space, turning the wall into a central passive heating element. The constantly changing light across the wall highlights not only its function, but also its materiality, linking the interior of the home to the sands of the dunes and beach outside.

White Sands residence on Carmel beach
White Sands residence incorporates sand wall
White Sands residence on Carmel beach
White Sands residence on Carmel beach
White Sands residence sand wall
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