• Architecture,  Design Spotlight,  Featured,  Form,  Print Edition,  Spotlight

    James D. Nordlie, AIA

    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,…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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,…