2023 Home of the Month Look Book

Home of the Month
Selected Project
Sunfish Lake Contemporary |
New Build
This unique property is heavily wooded with a restored prairie
to the east. The client expressed a need for a main-level
owner’s suite, a main-level guest suite for aging parents, and
a large entertaining space. Most essential to the client was the
functionality of the spaces, the blurring of inside and out, and
employing space, light, and material to create intimate, personal,
and memorable experiences. A solar access study—understanding
where the sun is rising and setting on the site over the course of
the year—was integral to the design because the client also wished to eliminate as many shading devices as possible
within the home.
Photos: VONDELINDE
With a curated and restrained one-level entry, the home is thoughtfully positioned to engage the boundary condition
between prairie and woods. The home enables the owner to exist in the threshold between the two landscapes,
rather than favoring one over the other. As one moves through the home, the prescribed and serendipitous views,
the immediacy of the surrounding environs, and the effervescent interplay of light and shadow
create a rooted, dynamic, and very personal living space.
PLAAD
plaadoffice.com • info@plaadoffice.com
Design team: Mark Stankey, AIA; Matt Byers, AIA; Peter Kluzak;
Nicole Norris (I/O Design Office)
28