Project Description
FROM AIA CHICAGO:
This weekend home built on a steep, forested dune drew the jurors in with the architects’ skillful use of what one called “off-the-shelf products” such as windows and doors in a design that “pulls together coherently without the [expense] of everything being made custom.” It was completed for $245/square feet, and the design also minimized cost of another kind: the cost to the site. To reduce disturbance of the fragile site, the design has three overlapping pavilions that all cantilever from a retaining wall that runs along the uphill side of the house. Sustainable strategies include siting that maximizes sun exposure in winter, preservation of deciduous trees on the site for shade in summer, recycled metal siding and a thermally modified domestic wood rainscreen. “There’s a high level of respect for the environment,” a juror said, “and it must be a very nice place to spend the weekend.”
For more information about the 2014 AIA Chicago Small Projects Awards, please read http://www.architectmagazine.com/award-winners/aia-chicago-announces-winners-of-2014-small-projects-awards_o.aspx