X House

2020 RADA Winner
Custom House, More Than 3,000 Square Feet, Award
X House
Marquette, Mich.
Snow Kreilich Architects

How can you create a sense of comfort and ease in the heart of nature, even when nature is at its most hostile? This was the dilemma faced by Minneapolis-based Snow Kreilich Architects with its commission for a vacation home on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Surrounded by towering pines, the site—a rocky stretch of Lake Superior shoreline—has stunning waterfront views, but its postcard location is also its chief liability. Subject to upwards of 250 inches of snow each year, the regional climate takes a toll on buildings—especially country retreats with big windows and free-span interiors.

X House satisfies this brief by combining structural rigor, exquisite detailing, and the ingenious layout that gives the project its name. In plan, the house is divided into two intersecting bars, one containing the living room, kitchen, and garage, and the other the bedrooms and bathrooms. Both sit on a single floor and can be easily navigated by aging occupants (the clients are a multi- generational family). The configuration takes advantage of the site: Perched on an outcropping, the structure projects over the bluff while offering views of the beachy cove below. With a rugged steel-and-concrete frame and despite its glazed exterior, X House should endure amid the UP’s harsh winters.

PROJECT CREDITS
Project: X HOUSE, Marquette, Mich.
Client/Owner: Confidential
Architect: Snow Kreilich Architects, Minneapolis, Minn. Julie V. Snow, FAIA (lead designer and principal-in-charge) Matthew Kreilich, FAIA (design principal), Tyson McElvain, AIA (project architect), Carl Gauley (project designer and architect), Mary Springer, AIA (architect) Pauv Thouk, AIA (project manager), Jim Larson (consulting architect)
Interior Designer: Snow Kreilich Architects
Structural Engineer: Meyer | Borgman | Johnson (MBJ)
General Contractor: Gregg H Seiple Construction in collaboration with Hall Contracting
Landscape Architect: Flourishes, LLC
Size in Square Feet: 3,955 sf
Cost: Confidential

MATERIALS AND SOURCES
Cooktop or Range: WOLF
Cooking Ventilation/Vent Hood: WOLF
Dishwasher: BOSCH
Ovens, Built-In: WOLF
Refrigerator/Freezer: BOSCH
Bathroom fittings: DORNBRACHT, WATERWORKS, ARTOS, NIKLES
Bathroom fixtures: TOTO, DURAVIT, GEBERIT
Cabinets: CUSTOM
Countertops: MADREPEROLA (Stone Source)
Exterior: Wood Siding: WESTERN RED CEDAR SIDING WITH SOLID BLACK RUBIO MONOCOAT FINISH & Stone: BALTIC BLUESTONE
Flooring: VALDERS GRAY LIMESTONE
Insulation: DOW BUILDING SOLUTIONS
Kitchen fittings: DORNBRACHT
Kitchen fixtures: JULIEN
Lighting: ELEMENT LIGHTING & LUMINII
Masonry and Stone: BALTIC BLUESTONE
Metal: POWDER COATED ALUMINUM PANELS
Exterior Finish: SOLID BLACK RUBIO MONOCOAT FINISH
Interior Finish: Sherwin Williams
Roofing: GEORGIA PACIFIC
Windows: FLEETWOOD