High Performance Lowcountry Vernacular
Contemporary. Resilient. Energy Efficient.
Our client came to us with a vision: a timeless home that captured the spirit of the Lowcountry while offering the performance and comfort of modern design. They dreamed of a place to enjoy sailing, boating, fishing, and golf, something beautiful and resilient, where the whole family could gather for the holidays and where quiet moments at sunset would be just as meaningful as festive celebrations. This wasn’t just a vacation house, it was a forever home, a base for living fully in every season of life.
Featured in our upcoming book Contemporary Southern Vernacular: Creating Sustainable Houses for Hot, Humid Climates
Featured in the Wall Street Journal, 2023
Featured in The Post and Courier, 2023
AIA Charleston Merit Award, 2022
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Awards
AIA Charleston Merit Award
Contractor
Broad River Construction and Phifer Contracting IncLocation
Cane Island, Beaufort, SCPhotography
Kim Smith Photo
A Modern Home Rooted in Tradition
We designed a home that blends traditional charm with high-performance systems, perfectly suited for the hot, humid Southern climate. With a tight building envelope, high-efficiency HVAC, and careful siting for natural light and ventilation, the house stays cool, dry, and energy-efficient all year round. It’s as durable as it is beautiful, low-maintenance and cost-effective, but never at the expense of style.
Every space was planned with intention—from grand rooms ready for family gatherings to quiet nooks that frame the marsh and river views. The architecture respects the rhythms of Lowcountry life, with broad porches, wide eaves, and a design that feels rooted in tradition while confidently embracing the future.
Designed for Living Well—Now and in the Future
The result is a luxurious yet grounded home, an elegant retreat where the family gathers for holidays, shares stories on the porch, and watches the sun slip behind the river. It’s a place of connection, reflection, and lasting comfort. The home’s thoughtful balance of beauty and performance has not gone unnoticed: it was featured in both The Wall Street Journal and The Post and Courier in 2023. But for the client, the greatest reward is living in a house that feels as enduring and welcoming as the landscape around it.
Featured in Our Book
We’re proud to say this project is one of the case studies featured in our book, Contemporary Southern Vernacular: Creating Sustainable Houses for Hot, Humid Climates. It’s a real-world example of how the principles we believe in—resilience, sustainability, and regional design—come together in a way that feels personal and practical.
From the client
Working with Michael and Jane of Frederick + Frederick was an exceptionally pleasant experience. Their creativity, attention to detail, and desire to design and build the perfect home for us was demonstrated throughout the entire process. From the initial design through project management, we knew they always had our best interests in mind. Their project manager worked well with our builders and made excellent decisions on our behalf. We put our complete trust into the team at Frederick + Frederick, and the outcome exceeded our expectations. Jane also managed and created the interior design, which turned out to be a perfect complement to the overall design of the house.
Rhonda Anderson
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The systems incorporated include a super-efficient geothermal heat pump which also provides hot water, 11.9kW solar panel array, Tesla Powerwall battery, along with a tight envelope, low solar heat gain coefficient windows, and occupancy sensors that activate ERV’s. In hurricane prone Beaufort, resilience is of the utmost importance. This house is raised up with its living spaces a story above the base flood elevation. It’s structurally designed and built to withstand 140 mph winds and debris impact and has impact resistant windows. The large sliding doors are protected by roll-down hurricane screens. In the event of a multi-day power outage, the house is operational, thanks to the solar panels and backup battery.
