OAD restores Soviet military bunkers as a seaside home in
Latvia SAR is a seaside property project created by Open Architecture Design (OAD) on the Saraiki coastline in Latvia. The house is constructed on the remains of Soviet-era military bunkers originally constructed to protect the fragile Baltic coastal dune environments. The job adjusts these existing structures into a residential complex made up of a primary home and two visitor houses for a multi-generational family.
The site included 4 deserted bunkers partly covered by greenery. Rather than removing them, the design incorporates these foundations into the new residential program. The intervention reuses the structures as the base for the primary dwelling and two smaller sized guest homes, establishing a relationship in between the existing military infrastructure and the new domestic environment.
The main home is defined by a big dual-sloped roofing system that follows local architectural regulations while presenting a contemporary product expression. Fiber cement panels outfitted the roofing surface, referencing the material language connected with Soviet-era building and construction. To support the roofing system above a glass facade, OAD established a custom metal frame that works both as a structural solution and as a noticeable architectural element. The primary home lie on the 2nd flooring, while the entrance is located underneath the elevated volume. Your house spans 2 bunker structures, effectively bridging in between them. This configuration increases the interior flooring location while limiting direct influence on the surrounding landscape.
< img src ="image/gif; base64, R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP/// yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"alt="grass-covered seaside
household
home repurposes deserted soviet military bunkers
in
latvia- 1″width=”818 “height=”614″data-src =”https://static.designboom.com/wp-content/dbsub/465328/2026-03-12/oad-repurposes-abandoned-soviet-military-bunkers-into-a-seaside-family-home-sar-1-69b27a4d95771.jpg”/ > a wooden course leads toward the Latvian white sand beach|all images by Alvis Rozenbergs SAR home reinterprets the kind of the original bunkers The 2 visitor houses draw directly from the kind of the initial bunkers. Their low volumes are covered with lawn roofs, enabling them to combine visually with the coastal surface while extending habitat conditions for local animals. The contrast between the raised primary house and the grounded guest structures defines the spatial organization of the website. One element appears suspended above the landscape, while the others stay embedded within it.
Inside the primary house, the interior decoration by studio Open Architecture Design– OAD highlights restrained product options and basic detailing. Wooden surfaces, exposed concrete floorings, and tactile surface areas specify the interior environment. The design responds to natural daylight conditions. The primary living location is oriented to get morning light, while the bedroom consists of openings directed toward sunset views over the Baltic Sea. A constant glass facade enhances the visual connection between interior areas and the surrounding coastal landscape.
Through the reuse of existing bunker foundations and the mindful positioning of new structures, SAR project explores how domestic architecture can be incorporated within a traditionally layered coastal environment while limiting its physical footprint on the website.
the dual-sloped roofing system adhere to local architectural guidelines< img src="image/gif; base64, R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP/// yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 "alt="grass-covered seaside household home repurposes deserted soviet military bunkers in latvia-3"width ="818"height ="1091"data-src ="https://static.designboom.com/wp-content/dbsub/465328/2026-03-12/oad-repurposes-abandoned-soviet-military-bunkers-into-a-seaside-family-home-sar-3-69b27a4d9582f.jpg"/ > roofing systems covered with wild lawns expand the environments of regional fauna