The famed architect William Morgan designed many interesting homes very close to our own in Atlantic Beach, and also in Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beaches. There are two that I know of that are currently on the market, and available for lease in Atlantic Beach.
My husband and I called his office last summer, and asked if we could meet him to talk over the concrete construction technology (www.montenero.us) my husband is developing for safe and sustainable homes. We’d met William Morgan casually at his book signing at The BookMark a few weeks earlier, and to my astonishment, he invited us to come to his home and meet him there. We live just two blocks away, so we eagerly accepted the chance to have a more intimate conversation with him, and to see another of his personal designs. His home is built into the side of a dune, too, and sits oceanfront.
He and his wife could not have been nicer or more welcoming to us. I brought a small bag of Peterbrooke chocolate covered popcorn as a small gift, and we settled in for chat. I petted their cat, who, as cats do, hopped up onto the table and approached me, sensing the cat lover that I am. We talked about architecture, and he gave us his thoughts on marketing the ‘safe and sustainable’ modular construction technology. We felt privileged to have had an audience with them both.
We’d bought, and he signed his beautiful coffee table book from The Master Architect Series VI “William Morgan – Selected and Current Works”. So, I can locate every William Morgan-designed home in all the beaches area, and across Florida, as well as many of his other outstanding projects for the private and public sectors throughout the United States.
The pictures here are the two homes that I am aware of that are currently being offered for sale and/or lease.
(the beach is just steps away from this cool, contemporary home)
If you’ve ever wanted to live in his famous Dune house, why not lease it? Here’s a view of it from the street (and not a very good one, sorry. Perhaps I’ll edit this tomorrow.) The Dune house viewed from the beach side is pictured at the top.
I am so embarrassed that I never sent a hand-written thank you note to the Morgans for inviting us into their home. My mother raised me better than that, and I know she’s chiding me from Heaven at this very moment. Although a blog post does not compensate for a personal note, I do want to publicly acknowledge how much we enjoyed visiting with them and how touched we felt that they invited us – just two folks – into their home, and gave his point of view on our modular concrete technology. Yes, a note is on my agenda tomorrow along with another, though not overdue, note of appreciation to someone else. My etiquette skills are still somewhat intact. But I’d rather be late than to let it go unsaid altogether.
Wow, Mr. Morgan is truly a gem. I be you and your husband were thrilled. BTW, I checked out that http://www.montenero.us company. That is REALLY interesting. Its looks like it is hurricane proof.
I have often wondered about that dune home! It's so neat!
We have previously discussed your husband's concrete home construction company, and that is terrific idea too…especially in an area prone to natural disaster! Come to think of it, concrete would be a great idea for homeowners living near volcanoes! I see people's homes burn down all the time of the Discovery programs about eruptions…!
…what an inspiring thing to have happen…how gracious of them to invite you and visit with you…you should be proud to know that you are on the cutting edge of a wonderful idea…and that you share a kindred spirit with one who is so forward thinking and creative…xo, mickey
Oh wow how exciting! I've loved this type of architecture for years, didn't realize it was in Florida but haven't really spent much time in the northern part. I love the sand dune home, awesome!
What an amazing house! And all your surfing pics make me miss the ocean! I lived in Hawaii for a bit, and always miss that amazing ocean smell.
I HAVE NEVER, IN MY LIFE, BEEN
TO THE BEACH. the only ocean
water i have ever seen was in
the inner passage of alaska.
when we got married, that was
supposed to be part of the deal.
but here we are, married over 3
years now and we have been
everywhere but the beach. i keep
on waiting. i am jealous!
P.S. i am a fellow c jane community
leader. nice to meet you 🙂
{sigh}
Your blog makes me miss my beachy California home.
Here I sit in snowy Utah and I feel warm looking at your pictures!
I'm excited to read more.
🙂 Evonne
(fellow cjane community leader)
Why don't more people use concrete construction especially in hurricane prone areas?
Because it breaks down, cracks, and begins to leak fairly rapidly.