Michigan Lake House

2018 Residential Architect Design Awards / Custom Home More Than 3,000 Square Feet / Award

“It’s just very strong—not only in its gesture, but also in its detailing. It seems like a very open space, but there is a welcoming warmth to it.” —Dirk Denison

Michigan’s northern coastline is dotted with stunning lake houses, and a 4,800-square-foot weekend house designed by New York–based Desai Chia Architecture and located outside Traverse City, fits right in. Clad in blackened wood planks, it features a dramatic 20-foot cantilevered roof that creates a covered terrace complete with a fireplace, looking out over a bluff toward Lake Michigan.

The house arises from two sources of inspiration. As part of their research, the architects, Arjun Desai, AIA, and Katherine Chia, FAIA, traveled to Japan, where they became entranced with traditional Japanese design. In particular, they focused on the use of lightly charred wood as exterior cladding—a technique known as shou sugi ban—which prevents rot, deters pests, and lends the building a severe but natural look.

At the same time, they took note of local vernacular design along Lake Michigan, especially in the fishing villages that sit in between the luxury weekend getaways. Those close-knit communities informed the house’s massing, which is made up of three loosely grouped volumes—containing the living and kitchen spaces, the master suite, and the guest rooms, respectively—all linked by a breezeway that doubles as the dining area.

After carefully studying the site’s prevailing winds and light, Desai Chia oriented the home to take advantage of cooling breezes. The firm also salvaged wood from pest-ravaged ash trees in the nearby forests, which it had milled for use in the interior floors and cabinetry—and even a coffee table and the master bed frame.

While the butterfly roof is dramatic, it is practical as well. The elevated lakeside location is prone to erosion, especially during the heavy storms that occasionally buffet this part of Michigan. The roof’s shape, which directs water into custom scuppers, funnels water away from the foundation and into a gravel bed and cistern for later use. The result is a home as striking in its design as it is in its functionality. —Clay Risen

See the full list of winners of the 2018 Residential Architect Design Awards.

From ARCHITECT's October 2017 issue:

Shortly after accepting a commission to design a weekend lake house for a family in northern Michigan, Arjun Desai, AIA, and Katherine Chia, AIA, founding principals of New York–based Desai Chia Architecture, took a trip to Japan that would have an unexpected and dramatic impact on their approach.

Their client sought a house that could stand up to Michigan’s hot summers and snowy winters with minimal maintenance, and suggested the architects look at the Japanese shou sugi ban technique, which involves charring wood to a blackened crisp, making it resistant to pests and rot. The architects observed examples on ancient teahouses and shrines. “These buildings have been around for centuries,” Chia says. It seemed an ideal solution.

The architects also took inspiration from traditional Japanese fishing villages, similar to building groupings found in fishing towns near the site on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula—the pinky of the state’s mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula. “The charm of those clusters of buildings was part of a local vernacular that I thought was really interesting,” Chia says.

That clustering became the guiding principle of the house’s form, which is three masses linked by a breezeway. One volume contains the kitchen and living rooms and connects to a covered terrace. The other two volumes hold the master suite and three additional bedrooms. The dining area sits in the breezeway, which also serves a performative role; the client insisted on not having air conditioning, so the breezeway and windows were oriented to the prevailing winds to encourage cross ventilation in the warm months.

The house’s lakeside location has the potential for erosion due to snow accumulation in the winter months. Designed to reduce maintenance and risk, the butterfly roofs also direct drainage away from the house and into gravel beds and a dry well cistern for later use in irrigation. The local architect of record, Environment Architects, offered insights on the area’s unique climate conditions. Principal Ray Kendra, AIA, says that the firm advised orienting the project to accommodate the path of the sun across a high latitude as well as how the lake affects snowfall.

The roof shape is evident inside, where the ceilings dip and rise, allowing the natural light to take on a different character in each vaulted space. Although the house’s exterior is Japanese in inspiration, the interior is hyperlocal. Ash trees from the site, killed by an invasive pest, were milled nearby and reused for flooring, the dining room ceiling, the master suite bed, and custom nightstands and coffee tables throughout the house. “We wanted to connect the site and the house back to the landscape,” Chia says. —Nate Berg

Project Credits
Project: Michigan Lake House, Leelanau County, Mich.
Client: Michael and Barbara Collins
Design Architect: Desai Chia Architecture, New York . Arjun Desai, AIA, Katherine Chia, FAIA (founding principals)
Architect of Record: Environment Architects, Traverse City, Mich. . Ray Kendra, AIA (principal)
Structural: Apex Engineering & Management
Mechanical: Bayshore Engineering
Civil: Jozwiak Consulting
Lighting: Christine Sciulli Light + Design
Landscape Architect: Surfacedesign
Landscaper: Darling Botanical Co.
Envelope Consultant: James R. Gainfort AIA Consulting Architects
Custom Furniture: Woodbine Custom Furniture & Cabinetry
Audiovisual: Waara Technologies
Contractor: Easling Construction
Size: 4,800 square feet
Cost: Withheld