On the boards/summer school - Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design

Residential Architect, Jan-Feb, 2003 by Melissa Worden

Eckenhoff Saunders Architects went back to school to design its next residential project. The 20-year-old Chicago firm, selected for its expertise in rehab and reuse, is transforming a historical 1930s schoolhouse property in New Buffalo, Mich., into 33 garden homes and lofts.

The 10-acre site, former home of the town's middle/high school, is located three blocks from a 900-slip marina, public beach, restaurants, and entertainment. "We're not just creating individual homes, but a summertime community," Walt Eckenhoff, a firm principal, explains.

Centerpieces of the complex are a man-made pond and a two-story, 16,000-square-foot masonry schoolhouse, built in 1938. This original structure was converted into seven 2,300-square-foot loft homes with private entryways, 11-foot ceilings, two-story kitchens, and inner atriums that draw in natural light. Back porches look out onto the pond.

New two-story, 2,000- to 2,500-square-foot cottages--with 400 to 600 feet of outdoor decks--ring the rest of the pond. Each home is positioned to create a stronger bond among neighboring families. "We envision adults sitting on their porches, watching their children and getting to know each other," Eckenhoff says.

The firm integrated the cottages with the nearby lake-front resort town by borrowing from its Arts-and-Crafts traditions. "It was important to us that a new development reinforce the character of an existing place," Eckenhoff explains. "The hope is that the new development will fit into the town, not stick out."

To ensure cohesiveness, each of the four distinct cottage models has a consistent palette of materials--cedar siding, wood porches and decks with cedar railings, stone chimneys, and asphalt roofing. Roof lines vary, but masses are similar, and custom wooden garage doors are scaled down to one-car barn-like structures.

Construction won't finish until next winter, at the earliest, but two-thirds of the homes have already sold. "With the harbor just three blocks away," says Eckenhoff, "this is an ideal place for families with kids to enjoy the summertime lifestyle."

WINDOWS THAT CREATE YOUR VISION

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