The guest house is designed to harmonize with the existing house on the shore of Lake Michigan built in 1978 and designed by Swanson Hoflund Architects. The design of the original house was derived from a plan of two intersecting squares with the roof lines drawn up to the overlapping quadrant culminating in a loft space overlooking the main floor. Wing walls angled at 45 degrees project outward from the exterior corners to support the roof overhang.

The placement of the guest house allows a broad view of Lake Michigan while creating a private courtyard between that and the original. The two are connected by a glass entrance, rendered purposely transparent, to set the two structures apart visually. The new structure respects the premise of the original design, similar in form and scale, however, departs with different choices in materials. A charcoal gray metal roof, red corrugated steel siding, black metal glazing and stained concrete floors are chosen to give a crisper, more modern edge. The roof lines also rise to a loft, but this quadrant is offset to create a more distinct two-story form built from translucent fiberglass wall panels attached to an exposed steel frame. The space created by the offset contains a sculptural steel staircase that provides access to the loft.

ARCHITECT: Swanson Meads Architects
PHOTOGRAPHER: Beth Singer