Modern Lakeside Perch is a sleek, glass residence that melds the interior with the exterior while embracing expansive views overlooking Lake Michigan. Upon arrival at its entry drive, one catches a glimpse of the water past a front lawn, through the house, and beyond the backyard. The star of the show is a cantilevered deck built into the lot's bluff—a remarkable design and engineering feat—that carries through the clean, modern feel of the home into the landscape.

Residential | Modern

A mixed woodland border at the front perimeter of the property was artfully designed to seamlessly blend with the surrounding woodland context and provide needed privacy for the largely glass facade of the house. The meadow knits the woodland and privacy border at the ground level and acts as a transition to the lawn. Ornamental grasses and flowering perennials planted in large drifts allow for good legibility from the house across the lawn. Designed to provide maximal seasonal interest, the meadow is a good habitat for wildlife, with the sequential blooms of the perennials providing not only color for pleasure but a nectar source for bees and butterflies.

In the rear yard, the bluff presented a welcome challenge; while offering an amazing built-in asset of the waterfront and borrowed views, there was a sensitivity to working with setback regulations, slope stabilization, and erosion concerns. The team removed overgrown, unwanted vegetation to elevate and contour the site's grading and added specialty soils, grasses, and ground cover to act as erosion control measures. High-performance plants were brought in to stabilize rather than make the bluff overly ornamental. Designed to be visually lightweight, the elevated deck appears as if it is floating above the bluff, with glass railings allowing unobstructed lake views.

To make this vision a reality, galvanized helical piers were drilled 15+ feet deep into the sandy soil and then capped with reinforced poured-in-place concrete. Three "toothpick" columns support the front of the upper deck, while steel brace columns were installed as a 'tie back' at the rear of the upper deck to prevent uplift from strong prevailing winds. A structural steel deck frame was fabricated, erected, and wrapped in pre-weathered Ipe (Brazilian Hardwood).

The final product is a cohesive landscape that maximizes water views, balances outdoor spaces with the scale and style of the house, and incorporates regional materials and plantings—appearing as if this modern masterpiece has resided here for years.

2024 ASLA Illinois Merit Award