Atlantic Avenue Home Celebrates Amagansett History

People not familiar with the firm Bates Masi + Architects now have the option of going to a local bookstore. “Bespoke Home” is the eclectic title of a new book on the firm’s work, which has become more prominent in the Hamptons in recent years.

The Introduction is by the noted architecture critic (and Hamptons resident) Paul Goldberger, the authors are Harry Bates and Paul Masi, and the firm is headquartered in Water Mill. Mr. Bates, whose architecture degree was earned at North Carolina State University, founded the firm in New York City, then moved it east. Mr. Masi has a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University, and after working at Richard Meier & Partners, he teamed up with Mr. Bates 18 years ago. According to the book, the firm “has developed an approach, rather than a devotion to a particular style.”

Those more visually inclined can learn much about the firm’s approach by visiting 159 Atlantic Avenue in Amagansett, which has just come on the market—the ask is $9.95 million. The property is represented by Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “Just steps from the Atlantic Ocean, amidst fluttering dune grasses and windswept pines, iconic architects Bates Masi have meticulously designed and constructed a home—taking cues from its surroundings and celebrating local history,” according to the firm.

Much of that local history is the Amagansett Life Saving Station, on the adjacent property. The building takes one back to a time when such stations were positioned all along the South Fork’s coastline, manned by volunteer observers who sounded the alarm when a ship in distress was sighted. (For more on that era, the Town Marine Museum on Bluff Road is only a minute or so away.)

The dwelling at 159 Atlantic is a two-level modern construction of 3,000 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 6 baths, on just less than a third of an acre. The lower level has two guest suites with a central family room, and the upper level has entertaining and living spaces with a 360-degree view. As with the weathered cedar shingles on the Life Saving Station next door, each material for the new house—including cedar, bronze, and weathering steel—was chosen for its durability in a coastal climate. The property also offers a guest cottage as well as incomparable views of the ocean.

For the new owner, perhaps idle moments can be spent scanning the horizon as those volunteer lookouts did over a century ago.