On the coast of Lake Michigan in Illinois, this contemporary, waterfront home is an artful composition of geometric form, glass, and stone designed to intentionally dissolve traditional boundaries to its shoreline landscape. There is a curated depth to its experience, from entry sequence to lakefront facades providing unobstructed, albeit layered, views outward to the lake. Colors take on a thematic…
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Building delight
The team at Giraffe Design Build LLC believe that a finely designed and expertly crafted home encourages inspired living and generates delight for both people and the environment. Their goal is simply to bring joy to people’s lives. The Ann Arbor, Michigan–based company affirms the principles of effective design, careful craftsmanship, open communication, and responsible stewardship of their clients’ homes,…
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Building better lives
“Our mission statement is to build better lives for our clients and our employees. I think the construction industry as a whole is uniquely positioned and I think our segment of the market is different in that we don’t build speculatively, we don’t go buy land and make you build with us, we are very much custom and clients choose…
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Building Someday
Built high into the steep, dune bluffs in Leelanau County, this contemporary lakefront home transcends traditional vernacular as it stands witness to the drama of a dynamic Lake Michigan theater. Magnetic and mercurial, the lake is one of expressive hue, shifting sands, and powerful currents set amid ancient forests, towering headlands, and islands of tilted limestone layers buried beneath glacial…
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The Caterpillar
In Core City, Detroit, urbanism is defined in unconventional terms. For the creative and technical minds behind the neighborhood development at the intersection of Grand River Ave. and Warren Ave., it is about investing in intentional and thoughtful ideas grounded in reality to create a place rather than a market or projects motivated by demand. It is about renovating and…
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Skydeck Chicago
An almost quintessential Chicago experience, observing the Chicago skyline and neighborhoods from the Skydeck Chicago on Willis Tower’s 103rd floor is one of the unique travel opportunities held by the city. As the highest observation deck in the United States, the Skydeck and The Ledge—its transparent-floored enclosures—are suspended 1,353-feet above ground, enabling visitors to see across 50 miles and into…
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Cook County Hospital(ity)
In the Illinois Medical District on Chicago’s West Side, Harrison Square, a new micro-neighborhood is being formed that will add residential, office, and retail and hotel space to the immediate surrounding area. One transformative project in the heart of the development oversaw the restoration of an eight-story iconic building with a distinctive Beaux-Arts façade that led to a 2020 Landmarks…
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Hospitality by healthcare
“Design is a practical practice. There is a misconception that interior designers come up with creative ideas and make things happen almost magically, but that is not the case at all. A good design is very thoughtful,” said Kathryn Chaplow, interior designer and owner of Kathryn Chaplow LLC in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Kathryn Chaplow LLC is an interior design firm…
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Design, in virtual
As adjustments have been made left and right to carry on everyday routines, resourcefulness and creativity in communities and industry are as relevant as ever. Even in the design sphere, creative leaders are finding ways to deliver great design; and in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Wayne Visbeen, AIA, IIDA, founder and principal at Visbeen Architects LLC is at the head of…
