Surreal Architecture may never be able to match the vastness of the ocean, but it can accentuate it in astounding ways. Just take a look at these striking contemporary homes, whose sweeping clean lines and unabashed reliance on retractable glass walls embrace the boundlessness of the sea, while drawing it so much closer at the same time. It?s quite inspiring.

Photo by Dean Bradley via Robin Williams Architect
This award-winning Australian beach house is flushed with sunlight during the day, but glows at night thanks to translucent polycarbonate walls.

Photo by Serge Anton via Designboom
Playing peek-a-boo with the spectacular seascape, the stark white hillside Silver House in western Greece features a layered sequence of rooms and terraces (which also helps defend against strong winds.)
Photo by Dennis Guichard via Contemporist
With frameless sliding glass doors on all sides and no permanent interior partitions, this modern beach house near Cape Town, South Africa, seems to exist solely to admire the ocean before it.

Photo by Sergio Pirrone via Dezeen
V-shaped columns supporting an overhang create the dramatic indoor-outdoor living area of this oceanside home in Chile, where the ocean is close but an irresistible pool is even closer.

Photo by Adam Letch via Designboom
This cliff-side home frames the South Af...