Caledonia, MI (in progress)

“Framed House” is a new residence currently under construction in Caledonia, Michigan.

Set on the edge of a wooded ravine, this home draws from the agrarian forms of the western Michigan countryside, while reframing them for contemporary life. The familiar gable silhouette recalls barns and outbuildings that dot the landscape, yet the form is carved and cantilevered to create new volumetric ideas and dissolve the boundaries between interior and exterior space. These operations on the building’s “mass” contribute to a collection of dynamic living environments, consolidated within a relatively modest footprint. The sequence of volumes that contain kitchen, dining, and living spaces interlock, stretching across the ground floor before expanding into the lofted double-height space that connects the shared space below to the private quarters above. Views to the exterior braid through these spaces, framing the ravine. Throughout the home. light, warmth, and views of forest and sky situate acts of living relative to a rich natural context.

Where large formal gestures explore grand, expressive responses to vernacular types, each detail, surface, and joint is dialed in for performance. Triple-pane tilt-turn windows, passive house air sealing, dense insulation, and an all-electric system with continuous fresh-air exchange are among the many considerations that enable Framed House to operate with considerable energy efficiency.

This notion of a home can stage the rituals of contemporary life, while working consciously and harmoniously with its context carries through the performative and the formal qualities of Framed House: A modern echo of pastoral architecture that has long marked the midwestern horizon.

This project was completed in collaboration with:

Travis Williams - Principal in Charge, Project Manager
Kasey Vliet - Design Support
Trevor Herman Hilker - Designer
Elpis Wong - Designer

Finish Photograhy: Jane Messinger Photography