This house on New York's Fire Island escaped Hurricane Sandy unscathed, despite its exposed beachfront location, thanks to an overhaul from Delson or Sherman Architects.
Updates to the Fire Island House were completed just before the Category 3 storm struck the US Eastern Seaboard in 2012.

The barrier islands along the south of New York's Long Island were some of one of the worst affected by the hurricane, which in total caused $70 billion worth of damage.
But Brooklyn firm Delson or Sherman Architects added features like vertical cement siding, rust-proof metal roofs, and impact-resistant windows to the building to ensure its shell is sturdy.

"Though the house is only a few steps from the Atlantic, it rode out the storm unscathed thanks to the upgrades," said the studio, founded by architects Perla Delson and Jeff Sherman.
Approached by the home's owners to renovate the property, the duo was attracted to the project by the challenges faced by building on Fire Island, which they described as "a difficult place for a house".

The barrier island is an ever-shifting sand bar, which is constantly battered by wind, rain and ocean spray that quickly corrode and rot the construction materials.
"What I love about Fire Island is how little there is to it," explains architect Jeff Sherman. "Just sand, scrub pines, and ocean ? it's so elemental."

Work entailed rebuilding the swimming pool and deck on tall wooden piles, to bring them level wi...