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Farquar Lake Residence

Project Description

The site is located within a mature suburban neighborhood along the south shore of
Farquar Lake. The previously unbuilt land was heavily wooded with large oak, maple
and cottonwood trees and a gentle slope from the road down to the lake. The shape
of the property was long and triangular widening from the narrow south end at the
street and opening much wider at the north edge along the lake. The site design
strategy was to locate the house to screen views of adjacent homes and open to the
north views of the lake while maintaining as many trees as possible.

The owners were a young family of four seeking to create a house that was open and
permeable, celebrating their active lifestyle and a desire for visual and spatial
connectivity to the site from all spaces. The family also sought to develop outdoor
play and garden spaces while celebrating views of the lake. The design concept
emerges from the boundaries of the site, the surrounding landscape and the desire to
organize the spaces of the house into two separate wings of the public and private
realms linked with a breezeway and outdoor court spaces.

The house is grounded to the site on a bluestone “outcropping”, which extends the
natural entry grade through the house and courtyards creating a plinth for the house
to rest upon. The two wings of the house are defined as separate wood-clad masses,
the private realm a two-story bedroom wing on the east and the single story public
realm, living wing to the west. These two wood clad forms are connected by an entry
court, a glass-enclosed breezeway and a screen porch. A folded, dark metal plane
wraps the wood wings as walls and roof, creating a sculptural cap of the house. The
entry court has a paver drive with landscape at the trellised entry arrival. On the
west edge of the house, the metal wall is punctuated by dynamic window placement,
allowing light in while screening views of the neighbors. The breezeway becomes an
open access between the car court and lakeside yard, allowing a flow of air and
activity through the center of the house toward the lake.

The interior spaces incorporate bluestone and red birch wood floors, extending the
natural material palette into the house. The roof slopes up from the bedroom wing of
the house to dramatic floor to ceiling windows in the living/dining spaces and master
bedroom drawing in views of the site and lake. The focal point of the living room is
the dramatic bluestone fireplace, which supports an overlook loft and lower play
space behind. In the kitchen, sustainable reconstituted wood veneers convey a rich
color compliment to the bold yellow of the walls.

From the central screen porch, a series of monolithic bluestone steps extend from
the lakeside terrace toward the shore. Garden spaces along the west edge of the
property lead one toward the play space adjacent to the lake and a fire pit along the
restored shoreline of native plant materials.

Architect: ALTUS Architecture + Design


Timothy A. Alt, AIA, CID, Principal
Chad Healy, Project Designer
Roger Cummelin
Interior Designer: ALTUS Architecture + Design
Structural Engineer: Stroh Engineering, Bernie Stroh, PE
Location: Farquar Lake, Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA
Area: 3360 sf
Completed: 2008
Photography: © Paul Crosby, ALTUS Architecture + Design (see file names)

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