DILLON RESIDENCE

LOCATION: MILWAUKEE, WI

STATUS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION – Expected Completion 2016

CONCEPT: Designed for a City owned site overlooking a park, the residence was strung around the perimeter of the double lot to maximize an interior courtyard and present a massing tight to the setbacks reinforcing the urban wall of existing homes on the block. 

Narrow building volumes enable both natural cross ventilation and daylighting from two or more sides of a room, minimized the need for artificial light and cooling. The narrow wall of building, combined with the detached garage and covered walkway encompass a private interior courtyard for the gardener client, while also creating a sheltered microclimate to extend the seasonal use of the space. 

A hardscaped patio in the courtyard stretches the living room to the exterior via sliding glass panels and enabling a large public area for entertaining.

The simply arranged interior features a large central kitchen open to the living space and studio above, truly forming the heart of the building.  Small sleeping rooms and efficient service areas help consolidate area to the public realm, while keeping the overall square footage below 2000.

Concrete slab-on-grade construction features hydronic heating in the winter months, and passive cooling in the summer months.  Coreten (A606) steel siding will patina in short order, providing both no-maintenance durability and a rich orange brown base to the two-story structure while high quality solid maple H-windows will ventilate and provide views of both the courtyard and the adjacent park.