The Salt Box Residence is a 2,400 square foot home sited in the low-lying, flood-prone salt marshes of New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay. The client’s brief was to design a lasting replacement for a multi-generational family home that had been damaged beyond repair during Hurricane Sandy. The site is situated at the end of a small peninsula, bound directly to the west by a commercial shipyard and marina, and to the north, south, and east by expansive views of the Barnegat Bay.

Image credit: Parnagian Architects LLC
Constrained by local ordinance to the existing footprint of the previous home, Salt Box takes on a narrow, rectilinear form. Slight internal shifts in plan and volume create spaces for both retreat and gathering. A patterned rain screen, composed of alternating width Atlantic White Cedar boards, cloaks the exterior. The cedar weathers to a natural grey, a subtle design move to give it the appearance of having always been there.
An open living, dining, and kitchen area is considered as an “outdoor room”, with a double-height volume and floor-to-ceiling glass inviting inhabitants into the landscape. A small study perched above from the second floor looks out into the space below and views beyond. Variations in the porosity of the rain screen create a lively play of interior light and shadow throughout the day, while mitigating solar heat gain across the entire building envelope. The ‘outdoor room’ serves as a shady refuge within the vast salt marsh landscape. A free-standing wood burning fireplace sits prominently within the space. The exterior cedar soffit permeates through to the interior, forming a continuous ceiling lining. White Oak flooring and joinery, and white painted cement board and plasterboard, compose the majority of the interior material palette. An array of photo-voltaic panels at the roof level provides electricity for the home, taking advantage of the gently sloping planar roof surface and abundant south-westerly sun exposure.
“The building sits very nicely in its environment. Its use of a screen wall as an organizing element is very successful. It is well proportioned. Materials are modestly deployed. The jurors would like to have this beach house.” – 2018 AIA-NJ Chapter Design Competition Jury
Parnagian Architects is thrilled to receive the Jury Award in the 2021 Architizer A+Awards.
Technical Sheet
Project: The Salt Box Residence
Location: Mantoloking, New Jersey, USA
Architects: Parnagian Architects LLC
Architecture Team: Brian Parnagian, AIA
Status: Unbuilt
Completion: 2018
Visualisations: Parnagian Architects LLC
- Image credit: Parnagian Architects LLC
- Image credit: Parnagian Architects LLC
About Parnagian Architects
Led by Redbank, New Jersey-based architect, Brian Parnagian, Parnagian Architects LLC is an award-winning full-service contemporary architecture firm based in Red Bank, New Jersey. Recognized for unique, high-quality design, they provide architectural, planning, and interior design services across a range of project types.
Source: v2com newswire