Behind the Build: Villa Duna

MGAC was founded on a simple promise: to take the most interesting, ambitious project ideas and make them a reality. Getting there is a matter of countless small steps, conversations, and carefully-calibrated decisions, taking place between day one and that long-awaited delivery day. These are the moments that make a project. With our Behind the Build series, we take a closer look at the roads that lead to a final product, delving into the ways our talented, passionate team makes a project possible. Today, we revisit our work on Villa Duna.

In August 2023, our luxury living team was engaged to provide project management and schedule management for a one-of-a-kind East Coast beach house. A waterfront retreat in every sense of the word, the 12,400-SF home would boast the singular luxury of panoramic water views, with the Atlantic on one side and a tranquil lake on the other. Not to be outdone by the location, the estate itself would exude high-end living, spanning nine private bedroom suites and a host of extraordinary amenities, including a dedicated spa, sauna, bowling alley, golf lounge, library, salon, gallery, and—to add to the surrounding water features—an outdoor pool.

As is the case with most luxury living projects, it was an ambitious build, and early construction was already underway when the project team recognized that an experienced project and schedule manager would be critical to delivering the dream home ahead of an upcoming summer season. We were all in and joined a project team consisting of Kimmel Studio Architects, Horizon Builders, Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, Orsman Design, and Patrick Sutton Design to make it happen.

AN ELEGANT CONTRADICTION, A STORY WRITTEN BY PEOPLE AND PLACE

In many ways, this build was defined by two prevailing priorities: people and place. Our client envisioned this property playing backdrop to a multi-generational summer story, and being a place where his siblings, nieces, and nephews could make sun-drenched memories for years to come. As such, his relatives provided a foundational—and inherently personal—design directive. A family-first focus permeated every square foot of the physical build, from the suite of amenities to the stylings of individual bedrooms, so that every member of the family would feel known and warmly welcomed from the moment they dropped their bags.

Every great story starts with an inspired setting. The plan for this home was to capitalize on the fact that they were working with the very best of them. Calm, clean architecture and natural design details take a cue from the tranquil, unspoiled setting, and seamless indoor-outdoor living was achieved by keeping some exterior living spaces unscreened, ensuring unfettered access to the gardens, dunes, and ocean just steps away. The shingled exterior grounds the home in a classic East Coast vernacular and sets the stage for an interior that likewise captures the essence of refined seaside living. Throughout, intentionally placed windows pull sweeping views of surrounding bodies of water into every room, a visual theme reinforced by abundant blue design accents peppered throughout the home, including a round turret on the northeast corner that takes in the views of the Atlantic. Lastly, a can’t-be-missed, custom-built aquarium visually seals the home’s enduring relationship with its seaside surroundings.

Above all, the design was driven by a singular directive: to pursue the elegant contradiction of a high-end, custom-at-every-turn home that still feels effortlessly grounded and timeless. A brand-new build that, to onlookers, appears as if it has always belonged on this perfect stretch of sand.

A DANCE OF LOGISTICS, A DEADLINE SET BY THE SEASONS

With a home designed around the magic of summer, the deadline was absolute: Summer 2024.  In construction, most deadlines have a degree of flexibility, but the changing of the seasons waits for no project team. Though construction on the home was already underway when we stepped in, the project was moving slower than projected. Leveraging our established working relationship with the project’s contractor, we quickly and seamlessly collaborated to re-engineer the contracting schedule.

Our next critical task was to button-up the envelope—securing the roof, windows, and doors to mitigate water intrusion and mold risk and greenlight the installation of interior drywall. With this major milestone secured, the schedule gained pace and predictability. We maintained momentum through proactive, regular team meetings and implemented a running risk registry of potential schedule delays.

This proactive communication allowed us to stay ahead of slowdowns common in custom builds, where globally sourced and bespoke materials can create a disruptive cascading effect in the event of shipping or manufacturing delays. In this case, the design called for a vast array of custom elements: hand-picked stone transported directly from an Italian quarry; made-to-measure millwork managed by two distinct contractors; dramatic, large-scale lighting installations; significant landscape, exterior, and pool design; and, of course, the project’s ultimate aquatic centerpiece—the aquarium.

All the while, keeping the build moving required orchestrating a delicate logistical dance. The site, while spectacular, was literally bounded by water, leaving minimal space for maneuvering and staging large construction trucks and machinery. This necessitated extreme precision in scheduling deliveries and work zones to prevent disruption and maintain critical momentum.

AN HEIRLOOM OF THE COAST, CRAFTED FOR GENERATIONS

Delivered right on schedule, the home opened its doors to the family just as summer greeted the shore. Now, it has played host to two full seasons. Every bit the splendid sanctuary our client envisioned, the home has naturally matured with the family’s rhythms. And, as life has unfolded within its walls, ideas for further refinement have surfaced. Our team has remained at the ready, tending to a family punchlist after the close of the season, ensuring the house is poised and ever-eager to embrace them, summer after summer.

Today, the warm, shingle-style home stands proudly on the shore with the gravitas of a time-honored estate. Regal yet relaxed, it is a stately sentinel that will endure as naturally as the tides surrounding it. Through seamless scheduling logistics and proactive project management, we helped deliver not just a house, but an heirloom retreat where every corner reflects the serenity of the coast and the distinct fingerprint of the family.