Lake Home

PLaN Architecture

Recognitions: 2012 Design Awards

Project Description

The Lake house is located on the South side of East Lake Okoboji, Iowa. The previously cleared 150'X50' parcel of sloped land had a buildable foot print of only 35'X70' and was designed largely in response to two site based programmatic requirements. Requirement One, we were asked to maintain as much outdoor space as possible, which given the small FAR (3,000 sq. ft. of home per 2,500 sq. ft. of buildable site) creates some unique site challenges. And Requirement Two, we were asked to maintain view to the lake though the lot only provide 35 feet of lake frontage which also created some unique design challenges for the organization of spaces. With three generations of the family residing in the home at any time, the home's spaces needed to respond to different activity levels of lake-living both now and in the future. The home's spaces by program work in two strata- upper level- has the kitchen, viewing rooms, master suite and private courtyard with parking and street access at the upper grade. The lower level as the TV/rec room, guest bedrooms and outdoor living area with lake access at the lower grade. The viewing rooms at the upper level become a sort of looking glass out to the lake framing the views. Exposed spiral ductwork was used to keep the wood-framed tube-like structure thin, thereby allowing for maximizing day-lighting and view. Over 80% of the home's spaces are day-lit. The interior spaces of the upper level are themselves open to each other and to the lake view. These shared spaces are centered around a 12'-0" wide cast concrete shear wall that serves as a chimney with a fire place at the interior at the upper level and the exterior at the lower level. As night falls, the viewing rooms become the viewed rooms from the lake in an interesting visual dichotomy. The viewing portion of the home is supported in the air by a lattice of structural steel tubes, creating an outdoor living space that formally and functionally mirrors the indoor living space above. The home has over 1500 square feet of outdoor living spaces between the covered patio below and the courtyard above. At the lower level the TV room is located behind the chimney, while the two guest bedrooms are symmetrically placed with walk-out access to the outdoor living space and the lake beyond. Incidentally, the outdoor furniture is stored beneath the garage in the winter months in a space created with the use of hollow-core slabs. The unique form of the home- which recalls something like a boat hoisted up from the water- is supported by a tri-partite structural system which consists of wood framing woven around a steel tube lattice set into a cast-concrete shear foundation and retaining system. The formal part of the home is primarily a response to the site based programmatic requirements of maintaining view and outdoor space, while the organization of space is based on social and topographical strata of the site and its users. In term of materiality, care was taken to select materials and methods that would be readily available and economical to meet the custom homes budge of around $160.00 sq. ft. with FFE. Exterior Materials: 1. Clear no-know cedar tongue and groove siding, cast-in-place concrete and structural steel tubes. Interior Materials: 1. Flooring- Carpet tiles in the bedrooms, American Mahogany wood flooring in public areas and ceramic tile in restrooms. 2. Custom Cabinetry- Liptus Wood 3. Doors and Trim- Clear stained Birch (with exterior doors being clear anodized alum.) 4. Windows- Clear Anodized Alum 5. Mechanical- Exposed galvanized spiral ductwork. 6. Structural Elements- steel (black) and concrete.