LAKE MICHIGAN BEACH COTTAGE
LOCATION: BELGIUM, WI
STATUS: COMPLETED 2015
AWARDS: 2016 AIA Wisconsin Honor Award
CONCEPT: An efficient floor plan and sweeping views to Lake Michigan on the east drive the site design for this summer cottage. These client desires, combined with development limiting floodplains located on the property encouraged the creation of a long, lean bar building with a centrally located and sheltered entry.
This low and regular wall of a building contains the view to the Lake, only hinting at what lies to the east and finally revealing the wide sandy beach and blue water beyond when entering the central void. From this covered exterior space, one can enter the main cottage to the south or the screen porch / bunkhouse on the north.
This simple entry sequence leads to an efficient floor plan, laid out with graduated levels of privacy as you move to the south through the linear building. Restraint was exercised throughout the project, in scale, cost and constructability, resulting a simple rectilinear shed perched just above the sandy beach.
