2020 Home of the Month Look Book

Waterfront Stone
and Glass
PHOTOS: LAKELIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Project type: New Construction
Retreat as Home | This Northern Minnesota home is located on a large recreational lake. The owners–lifelong residents of the area–are
going to use it as a permanent home but wanted the tranquility of a lakeside retreat. Modern and Traditional | The house has familiar
traditional forms with the gable typology and character but is distinctly modern in its execution of materiality and its planning. Solidity and
lightness | Limestone gable ends wrap the corners, creating extra thick walls and a sense of permanence to the home. In contrast, large
spans of glass and infill wood siding create openness and lightness. This allows the home to feel very substantial but also very connected
to the outside and infuses the interiors with natural light throughout the day.
Order for tranquility | The house is carefully planned for focal points, framed views and circulation axes. This creates a sense of tranquility
when in the home. It is balanced without being stagnantly symmetrical. A “quiet” material palette | The house has a restrained
palette used consistently inside and out of Minnesota Limestone, slate roof, wood, unfinished plaster and glass. In addition, the materials
used are simply rendered and subtly detailed. This restrained and visually calming approach reinforces the quiet quality to the home.
Form and edges to create light and view | The house is an attenuated, stretched-out form with multiple room projections into the landscape.
This creates many edges to connect indoors and outdoors, creates dynamic interior rooms as well as provides great daylight. The
lake is to the north, so the home is designed to be narrow at the living spaces to allow in southern light as well as light and views for two or
more sides for the key rooms.
House form to create outdoor rooms | The attenuated form that reaches out into the landscape is also used to create large and small
outdoor rooms. An entry courtyard is created by the garage “wing” which screens the neighbor to the west. That wing, with the paired gable
and intimate wood and glass expression,
creates the more intimate entry court. The
paired gables and walled terrace create the
lakeside living room and the walled terrace
extending the house form at the end creates
a room that enjoys lake view, front yard and
south light. Minnesota granite pavers further
define the courtyard entry experience and
implied exterior rooms.
TEA2 Architects
www.tea2architects.com • (612) 929-2800
Design team: Leffert Tigelaar, AIA; Charlie Witzke; Tyler Nelson
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