Pond House
A new home beside a pond in Michigan for family of four. The home is to be situated in a new neighborhood with a collection of production style houses pulled from plan books. Our clients are interested in a house that is tailored to their lifestyle and tastes, but want it to integrate with the basic size and massing of the other homes.
Our solution proposes simplifying the overly complicated production house typology in favor of a more honest, pared down structure. In this case, the pitched roof is embraced and celebrated as the primary form-giver with sleeping spaces tucked beneath it's rafters. The ornamental front porch is expanded to a functional, outdoor gathering space where the family can gather on summer evenings to chat with neighbors. The stone veneer is no longer a decorative accent, but rather a meaningful expression of the home's connection to the sloping site. And superfluous roof appendages become vital sun and wind catchers to help heat and cool the house.
