The Bluffs Beach Club

The Bluffs on the Cape Fear is a gated community development located on the high banks of the Cape Fear River just a 30 minute boat-ride from downtown Wilmington, NC. One of the amenities of the development is this oceanfront beach club located on Oak Island 30 minutes to the south.

The building and site were required to meet strict storm-water and impervious area requirements, resulting in a very compact structure with a simple roofline designed to make water runoff catchment efficient and beautiful. Six-foot-deep eaves cover four-foot-wide catwalks supported by continuous columns supported by brackets below. These catwalks link up to an oceanfront porch which all wrap around the main gathering space. This main space is designed as a “one-room-wide” space for efficient cross ventilation using reliable sea-breezes. All of the windows are shaded by the deep eaves with exposed rafter tails. No matter which way the rainy wind blows, there is a lee-side in the dry.

Showers, storage, stair, screened porch, front and rear entrances occupy the lower floor, with kitchen, bathrooms, and gathering spaces located on the upper level for protection from storm surges that frequent the region during hurricanes. Impact glazing, plywood structural shear-walls, cable-bracing, and specially designed hurricane-rated tie-down systems were employed in the structure to ensure it will endure a lifetime of punishment from its beautiful, but formidable location.