The search for beachside property brought a KL-based Spanish businessman and his German spouse 95-odd kilometres south to a Port Dickson locale, and fortuitously, a vacant 0.14-acre plot. With its stunning view of the Strait of Malacca, the acquisition was a no-brainer; land in hand, the couple began their search for an architect. The eventual appointee, DCA Plus, the offshoot of established practice Design Collective Architects, gave them the dream getaway they desired. And stylishly so.  

The site’s surroundings underpinned the idyllic proposition; thick tropical vegetation and a marina’s piers and yachts paint a mariner’s tableau within a man-made cove. The marina’s encircling breakwater is a peninsula of housing plots, one of which is La Concha, DCA Plus’ modest yet engaging design. Cutting a boxy two-storey profile against a south-facing horizon, the 5,541 sq ft house features a contiguous envelope of metal decking that shields its east and west sides. 

 “The design is really about an enclosure of privacy,” says director Chan Mun Inn. “There are no neighbours at the moment. But eventually the house will be sandwiched by other homes, and there’s really no point giving views to them. So we introduced this protective skin, a shell if you like, that focuses your entire attention to the sea.” La Concha, which is Spanish for ‘the shell’, is the client’s fitting moniker for their abode, capturing not just the architecture but also the charm and chic contained within.

The envelope of ribbed, marine-grade BlueScope steel cladding conceals a secondary structural shell of reinforced concrete, a cantilevered portal designed to orientate views. Sea and sky are dramatically framed at grade; glass doors slide away to open living and dining to an outdoor terrace and an extreme panorama. An indoor gym likewise gets the full panoramic treatment via full-height glazing, while a house-wide infinity pool distils a sublime sensorial experience under the heavens. 

And the views don’t end there. “There are four bedrooms on the top floor, three normal ones and a master. All of them face the sea,” highlights Mun Inn on how orientation matters in La Concha. Like the outdoor terrace below, the upper floor’s L-shaped balcony extends the footprint of each room, the master bedroom taking the lion’s share.

In this abrasive environment, using ordinary wooden planks as decking wasn’t an option. DCA Plus director Quah Zheng Wei elaborates, “The composite timber (for the deck) is almost as expensive as real timber. Like the cladding, the material needs to be durable, low maintenance. Going down the composite route means not having to worry about reapplying lacquer every few years, and the continuous upkeep.”

Where externalities warrant hardiness, the interior inarguably softens, albeit curatorially. The blank canvas of supersized tilework allows design and character to emerge on the ground floor. The island kitchen is one such element, an immaculate yet understated piece of craft and functionality. “The lady owner comes from a family that owns the biggest interior design company in her (German) hometown. So she’s very particular about the kitchen and cabinetry works. It was a long process, and she settled with Bofi in the end,” explains Zheng Wei.

A tension-rod staircase brings occupants to a minimally toned family room before they disperse into individual accommodation. With daylight streaming in from both sides, the master bedroom is an illuminated, well-appointed affair, accentuated by select accoutrements from Bali and the region. Like the kitchen, the wardrobe carpentry is executed to perfection.

Both directors are enthused with the results of their client-architect collaboration. Zheng Wei reveals, “She handled a lot of the fit-out herself. Of course, the wet finishes, like toilet tiles, fall under our design. We’re there to assist her, especially when it comes to matching (cabinet) finishes with what we selected for the interior. You want an aesthetic that works for the whole house.” 

Local beachfront homes can be found sporting vernacular stylings of pitched roof and wide overhangs, and for good reason. Weather can be extreme even on a good day, be it scorching heat or storming rain. What DCA Plus have done here is maintain the passive design principles – deep shade, solar insolation, optimal cross-ventilation – while proffering their brand of modernist architecture. 

What started out as a private holiday home has become a luxury retreat for those seeking an escape that only La Concha can offer. It doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination for the homeowners to capitalise on their unique property, a house of tailored and meticulous environments replete with detail, creature comforts, and a superlative ambience that commands a princely price. Good design sells itself, and in La Concha, that lux life can be yours to live within its shell of calm inhabitation and the infinite vistas it lays at your feet.