Lake Shore Drive Residence

Project Details

Project Description

Overlooking a park with Lake Michigan to the east, the Lake Shore Drive residence sits on a prominent corner site, bounded to the south and west by residential buildings, and to the north by a wooded lot with mature trees. The formal composition of the house is derived from owner’s desire for expansive park/lake views, privacy from neighboring high-rise and integration of sustainable goals.

Two solid masses make up the building’s form; a plinth anchors the house to its site, and a sculptural volume rises from the plinth towards the park and lake beyond. A double-height glass-enclosed void space, consisting of the Living and Dining Rooms, connects the plinth and sculptural volume. The Living room’s East façade, a full-width bay window, provides sweeping views of the park and brings in the outside. Bedroom floors, by contrast, are introverted. High window sills direct views upwards through the adjacent tree canopies, using the foliage as an additional layer to envelope the house’s private functions.

Orientation, program elements, and adjacency requirements informed the carving of each volume, resulting in the houses open and inviting public spaces as well as providing an intimate exterior environment in proximity to the residence’s private quarters. The resulting sloped roof is an optimum angle for the solar thermal panels, while a parapet wall continues to form a built-in screen shielding the exterior terrace from the neighboring high-rise building. The parapet continues to the building’s north façade, dropping to reveal the side-yard with a row of spectacular mature trees.

The exterior material palette reinforces the conceptual diagram. Volumes are expressed through the different use of one material, foreshadowing the projects attention to detail. The stepped plinth volume, laid up out of load bearing rock-faced Kansas limestone, emphasizes weight, mass and its earthen relationship. By contrast, the sculptural volume has a taut, honed exterior skin, employing the same limestone as rain-screen.

Sustainable measures were one of the highest priorities for the owner. Strategies to reduce carbon footprint, conserve energy and water were essential to the project, which exceeded Chicago Green Homes highest 3-star rating. The site footprint provides an elongated east-west layout maximizing passive solar gain. An innovative pultruded fiberglass system supports the rain-screen stone cladding along with an “out-sulated” exterior wall assembly help to minimize thermal bridging and restrict the impact of diurnal temperature variations.

Other passive solar strategies include incorporating brise-soleil to shade west-facing windows from high angle summer sun/admission of low angle winter sun, the use of the stairwell for stack effect, and thermal mass within the building envelope and door. Active sustainable strategies include solar thermal panels, geothermal wells for heating, and rainwater harvesting for irrigation.