Hidden Lakes Residence
Floating Fairway House
Set on a sloping wooded site adjacent to a private golf course, the client’s goal for this home was both to see and be seen. At its core, this luxury modern home embraces the client’s love of golf and architectural experience. The home takes advantage of a sloping site by breaking a large portion of the home containing the public spaces away from the ground and floating it above the site as the home extends to the south parallel to the 17th fairway.
“Designing and building is creative; it’s problem solving. You want to take the path that captures the greatest amount of drama and functionality out of the choices that you have. To get there you need to have good dialogue and you need to have trust. And we had, and still do, have great trust in the pros that we worked with.”
John E., Client
Site Strategy
Organized into public and private zones, the layout of the Hidden Lakes Residence responds to both views and interaction with the golf course to the east, and creates privacy for the sleeping areas to the west. The orientation of the plan also optimizes the pool layout with the solar orientation of the site.
“It’s almost as though Eric designed the house to build into the trees.”
John E., Client
Site Driven
After visiting the site, the design team was inspired by its gentle slope, perfect for a structure that elegantly disengages from the ground plane as it extends southward.
Elevated by Design
This allowed the home’s public spaces – living, dining, and kitchen – to lift above the terrain, forming a glass box that floats among the trees. Extending along the 17th fairway, it offers sweeping views of the golf course and the southern ravine and wetland below, anchored by a striking concrete fireplace. Beneath this glass volume lives a covered outdoor area, enhancing the connection to nature.
Anchoring the floating box to the site, both literally and figuratively, is a monolithic fireplace.
The negative space beneath the floating glass box creates a sheltered outdoor living area. The private areas are set into a more solid bar of space extending perpendicular to the glass box to take advantage of views to the wooded area below the house.
The structure of the living room box, laid out on a 5′ module, is supported by the large cast-in-place concrete fireplace. The fireplace becomes the centerpiece of both living room and the outdoor living space below.
Adjustable louvers were designed to create privacy from neighboring homes while still allowing maximum daylight into the space.
Interior Finishes
Materials chosen for this home included custom fluted oak wall panels and patina finished steel panel.
Project Details
Design Team
Eric De Witt, Dana Grassmid
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
Features
Cantilevered living room, structural concrete fireplace, modern curtain wall glass, custom stair, car salon
Collaborators
Construction
Interior
Landscape
Photography
Dustin Halleck
Eric De Witt
