House of Planes-House of Volumes

Distinguished Building Award Submission

Located on a sandy bluff overlooking Lake Michigan’s southeastern shore, each house inhabits its own private space while the communal terraced land becomes a central gathering site for family. Since the land slopes towards the bluff, the main floors are stepped accordingly. Wood boardwalks traverse critical dune areas for preservation.

Each house is designed with a two-story central circulation “spine.” Entry is centered on the glazed spine, which sets up axial views through the double height spaces onto rear patios and the lake beyond.

The houses are clad in a “rain screen” of Port Orford cedar and white composite aluminum panels. For the “House of Planes”, the exterior walls rise beyond the main volume of the structure while the floor planes extend to create deep balconies. The house shifts materials at each end to emphasize the “slipped” planes. The “House of Volumes” is stacked cubistic forms that are differentiated materially between the first and second stories.

Low-VOC foam insulation is used with high-recycled content cellulose to achieve a high R-value. A geothermal heating and cooling system uses ground water as a heat source. Solar panels provide domestic hot water, radiant floors on the interior and green roofs.

Architect

Tigerman McCurry Architects

Client

Matthew Shapiro, Ben Shapiro and Alexandra Shapiro Aron

Consultants

• Architecture + Light
• Building Engineering Systems (BES)
• Hoerr Schaudt
• The Structural Shop

General contractor

Lakeshore Enterprises

Location

Lakeside, MI

Category

Residential