Archiventure Group PC Architects President Harbor Springs, Michigan | Denver, Colorado “The first line is never sacred. Design is a process and it is fighting the battle of mediocrity, insensitivity, and laziness. Design is the challenge of overcoming all of those obstacles for an inspirational and positive result,” said James D. Nordlie, AIA, president of Archiventure Group PC in Denver, Colorado and Harbor Springs, Michigan. “The fight is to not allow the appreciation for design to get lost in the speed of time and budgets. Our fight everyday is to find truth in design and make it have social responsibility as there are so many problems that are facing our…
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The dune house contemporary
Beyond its sleek and sophisticated exterior, this Visbeen Architects Inc. residential project lives comfortably larger than its footprint through intentional and strategic design. The ability to capture a client’s dream with a conceptual drawing and translate the two-dimensional design into an architectural reality requires a combination of creative vision and technical skill that few possess. However, it is what has defined the rather comprehensive portfolio of Wayne Visbeen, AIA, IIDA, principal and founder of Visbeen Architects Inc., and his architectural design team for nearly 25 years. Visbeen Architects is an award-winning, Grand Rapids-based, full-service architectural firm with additional offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Bluffton, South Carolina. While the firm is known for…
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Radiant retreat
A Torch Lake vacation home was custom designed and built to shine. When the sun reaches its peak in a clear blue sky and reflects its rays upon teal-colored lake waves, there is a certain inexplicable quality in the resulting image. Bright, rich colors intertwine and inspire. It is the intense yellow and blues often found along the shoreline of Torch Lake in northern Michigan that set the stage for this comfortable cottage nestled into the landscape. With the soft-hued yellow tempered by white trim, subtle-toned stonework, and elegant sloping rooflines, it is hard for the curious eye to not be piqued by the keyhole feature offering a tempting view…
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The beachfront aerie
In renovating this waterfront aerie, nestled between waves and ravines on a mid-bluff along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, the collaborative team of Rock Kauffman Design, New Urban Home Builders LLC, and Bradley J. Boyer Design sculpted a 1950s-built cottage into an open and bright modern beach home in respectful interpretation. There is a tendency toward clean, minimal lines throughout the open floor plan where layered textures add subtle warmth and artistic touches such as the metal-and-wood staircase enveloping the main floor wine cellar serve as focal point and accent. Its materiality has interplay with its environment, where blues and greens of the waterscape add depth to its interior,…
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Building a snapshot
A Traverse City-based contracting and construction firm strives to frame each home by capturing the hidden treasures in each client’s lifestyle. “I have always had a drive for building things: building tree forts or building bridges through swamps,” said Dean Adams, owner of Bay Area Contracting, Inc. and BAC Design Group. “I was always so intrigued about it.” While Adams’ family may have had an affinity for the medical field as a profession, he decided to go against the grain to pursue a career in the building industry. With humble beginnings as a “grunt worker,” Adams worked his way through the field as he served as a framer, foreman, and project manager before deciding to establish his own…
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Rich welcome at Cass Lake
Set on a waterfront peninsula, this Cass Lake residence is a warm and artful interpretation of a contemporary seaside villa. There is a careful courtship as one moves from the limestone-and-iron front gate featuring a custom design by an artisan in the Middle East, to the circular drive before the grand entrance, where lush, tropical greenery, cement tile roof, glass, and a warm, textural stone exterior greet the viewer in V-shaped layout. At a glance, it is defined by its more than 1,000 feet of lake-frontage, low-sloped rooflines, unique massing and rounded corners, and an exterior of Minnesota-sourced Vetter stone and commercial-grade, aluminum-sash, bronze-tinted glass windows and doors. Its distinctive…
