SURBA

Project Location: United States

Montauk House

How can an old house be remodeled while keeping the structure intact?

CAZA was commissioned for the gut renovation and expansion of an existing house built in the early 1990s by a contractor. Redesigned for an NYC surfer family—a couple and their two kids—the project embraces modular planning principles to create a flexible and family-oriented home. All the bedrooms remained in their original locations, while the kitchen was relocated to the central living space, forming a vibrant social gathering node that anchors the house.

Montauk House's wood deck with outdoor lounge seating and sliders to living spaces.
Montauk House

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

A direct view was established along the north-south axis, connecting the foyer to the pool deck and ocean beyond. Along the east-west axis, the design employed parametric design strategies to remove an unused attic and introduce double-height ceilings with skylights, optimizing light and spatial flow. Finishes were updated to be light and contemporary, radiant flooring installed, and mechanical systems upgraded to LEED Platinum standards — enhancing indoor comfort and promoting regenerative health through reduced energy use and improved air quality.

The outdoor area was reimagined as an amphitheater of steps connecting the pool and deck, constructed with patented wood boasting the lowest carbon footprint. This design reflects a distributive network of interconnected indoor and outdoor spaces, enabling a seamless flow for both family living and entertaining.

Light-filled living room in CAZA's Montauk House with vaulted ceiling, stone fireplace, and built-in bar niche.
Montauk House

Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.

Inside, the pool deck aligns with the dining table, while the open kitchen features casual bar seating and island counters. A bar pantry and fireplace animate the sitting area, and skylit double-height spaces bring air and light into the five bedrooms and 5.5 baths.

By weaving together modular adaptability, parametric design precision, distributive networks of circulation, and a focus on regenerative health, the Montauk House becomes a light-filled, resilient coastal retreat designed to grow with its inhabitants.

Open kitchen and dining with long waterfall island and black-and-white wavy tile backsplash in CAZA's Montauk House.
Montauk House
Montauk House's vaulted primary bedroom with skylights, balcony door, and built-in desk and shelves.
Montauk House
Marble-clad bathroom in Montauk House with soaking tub by arched window, glass shower, and vanity.
Montauk House

Long Island City Oyster

How can a new development reconnect a neighborhood to its waterfront?

After a boom in high-rise residential development, Long Island City—now more densely built and populated—lacked the balanced mix of uses and infrastructure that makes for a thriving community. As manufacturing retreated, the waterfront—once the focal point of the community—became desolate and abandoned.

To address these issues, CAZA developed Long Island City Oyster, a masterplan and new development model for New York City that reconnects the neighborhood to a revitalized waterfront. The plan creates a network of public spaces that knit together new buildings and link them to the water, laying the groundwork for a vibrant, resilient district. These public spaces work in synergy with a programming mix that positions the waterfront as a center of activity and strengthens its ecosystems through principles of metabolic architecture.

LIC Oyster waterfront boardwalk and public pool on the East River with Queensboro Bridge and terracotta buildings.
Long Island City Oyster

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

Reconnecting Long Island City to its waterfront
The project’s built footprint accounts for only 55% of the total site area, leaving the rest of the space for a 2.5-acre park that unifies the buildings and reconnects Long Island City to its waterfront. Designed with parametric tools to optimize sightlines, circulation, and sunlight access, the park hosts year-round outdoor and indoor amenities, including a 7,000-square-foot black box performance space, a waterfront ice skating rink that converts into a pool for the summer months, a riverside bosque, a restored oyster-bed wetland, an eco-themed children’s playground, an open plaza for farmer’s markets, a sandy beach, and a ferry landin

Ecologically Sensitive Design
The plan incorporates rainwater recycling measures and adds water-efficient landscaping that filters storm-water while counteracting urban heat island effect. The building’s modular massing and siting optimize passive temperature control and natural ventilation, reducing overall energy consumption and enabling eco-industrialization strategies that balance human activity with ecological stewardship.

Street-level plaza at LIC Oyster with arched retail base, terracotta shingles, trees, and outdoor seating.
Long Island City Oyster

Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.

Public Gateways
The base of the buildings are shaped into sweeping public gateways that reinterpret the local industrial aesthetic of arches and recall the outlines of an oyster shell. Lined with community programs—including shops, social services, multi-purpose event space, and a supermarket—these gateways interface with the surrounding park to create an inviting district for residents of Long Island City and visitors alike.

Water strategy diagram for LIC Oyster showing rain harvesting, cisterns, water pathways, riverbank ecology, and green roofs.
Long Island City Oyster
Seasonal performance diagram of LIC Oyster with winter heat-loss control and summer natural ventilation.
Long Island City Oyster
Site plan of LIC Oyster mapping plaza, farmers market, ferry and kayak piers, river pool/ice rink, and landscape.
Long Island City Oyster

ADU

Can design help solve a complex economic problem?

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a smaller, independent dwelling unit located on the same lot as the main residence. Although ADUs have long existed, they have recently garnered more attention as a potential solution to the affordable housing crisis — one that leverages existing city infrastructure, limits urban sprawl, and enhances resiliency in urban environments.

The design minimizes the units’ environmental impact through principles of energy efficiency and metabolic architecture, making the ADU type — which typically carries a large carbon footprint — a more sustainable housing solution. The prototype is the first ADU to receive an Energy Star rating. Roof-top solar panels generate energy to power the unit, strategically located windows maximize cross-ventilation, and the exterior walls support plantings. Sliding glass panels allow residents to open the house directly to a deck or garden, creating indoor-outdoor living environments that promote regenerative health.

Studio ADU view toward kitchen and deck with clerestory windows, ceiling fan, and a large sliding garden door.

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

Studio
The nimble 400-square-foot studio uses a modular approach to create a compact kitchen and a flexible combined lounge, workspace, and sleeping area. A surface that slides out of the built-in dresser can serve as both a desk or dining table. When the Murphy bed is folded into the wall, its cross support becomes a work surface.

Studio ADU interior with built-in bed alcove, green sofa, compact kitchen, and clerestory windows.

Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.

One Bedroom
This option includes an expanded kitchen, dining, and living area as well as a full bedroom. As in the studio option, the living area is lit by both clerestory windows and sliding wall panels that open to a garden. A built-in desk beside the bed offers a dedicated workspace.

Working closely with the biggest prefabrication company in the northern United States, CAZA developed a customizable design scheme using parametric design and existing production capabilities, supply chains, and customer-service infrastructure. These distributive networks make it possible for a customized home to be ordered online, delivered, and installed on-site within weeks.

Section perspective of CAZA’s studio ADU showing storage wall, workspace, and centralized bath and utility core.
ADU
Front elevation of CAZA’s studio ADU with sliding glass doors, vertical slat cladding, and an accessible entry ramp.
ADU

The two prototypes — a studio unit and a one-bedroom unit — can serve as a self-use office, an intergenerational home, or a rental investment. Designed with eco-industrialization in mind, these ADUs illustrate how thoughtful design can help solve complex economic and environmental challenges.

Axonometric view of CAZA’s one-bedroom ADU with rooftop solar panels, sliding doors, and a wraparound wood deck.
ADU