DesRosiers Architects, an award-winning architectural firm located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan has specialized in custom residential, institutional, and commercial design for five decades, working with clients to tailor solutions that fit their personality, lifestyle, and brand. Founded and led by third-generation architect, Louis DesRosiers, AIA, president, the firm has built upon a rich legacy in traditional and contemporary design, supported by a team of registered architects, technical draftspersons, and designers. Its residential architecture portfolio is one that reflects a pursuit to create a physical statement through a harmony of art and structure, inviting the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape into the home, whether dynamic mountain range or compelling freshwater…
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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 us for that reason. While we deal with sticks and bricks and we build beautiful things, there is a level of service and design that is truly custom to each of our clients and to be chosen for that is really important,” said Lisa Pickell, president of Orren Pickell Building…
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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 debris. There is a constant in its transformation, as shipwrecks and natural landscape court the imagination, and for the homeowners of this waterfront residence built just north of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in view of South and North Manitou Islands, the idyllic setting of Lake Michigan served as the…
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Rustic-modern retreat
Overlooking Long Lake in Traverse City, Michigan, a home originally built in the mid-1990s was recently transformed into a rustic-modern, home-away-from-home for a couple and their growing family, a remodel designed by New Leaf Interiors of Traverse City. An interior design studio founded in 2010 by Gretchen Knoblock, owner and design director, New Leaf Interiors works toward helping clients realize their dream spaces, utilizing in-house capabilities such as kitchen and bath cabinetry selections, an array of finish options, and many furniture and home accessories lines. The firm’s services also include space planning assistance and visual representation of a client’s vision through sketches, the creation of concept boards, CAD drawings, and…
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Chicago celebrates DESIGNNIGHT 2022
AIA Chicago, the second largest chapter of the American Institute of Architects, kicked off its new DESIGNNIGHT 2022 on September 12th, 2022 in Chicago’s famed Millennium Park at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. The night comprised a free public awards event and overall celebration honoring the numerous design achievements of Chicago’s diverse and internationally renowned architectural community. Included in the celebration were the inaugural Lerch Bates People’s Choice Award—presented in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Center—the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award, the chapter’s new Decarbonization Award, the Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award, and the Design Excellence Awards, which were restructured to recognize projects of all scales, from small- to…
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Lakefront Prairie oasis
On the western shores of Lake Michigan, a composition of brick and stucco, leaded glass windows and overhanging eaves, emerges from its sloped landscape in an artful celebration of geometric abstraction. Surrounded by planted sumac and prairie grasses on a blufflike dune ecosystem, the home is respectful of the iconic Prairie Style where principles are adapted for its site, purpose, and time. There is an integration with its landscape as its rectilinear form intentionally wraps around a 150-year-old oak tree and opens out toward the lakefront in an expression of waterfront living. Its simple, natural palette celebrates the discipline of ornament and artistry of craftsmanship from artisan tiles and hand-carved…
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Design for Sale: Leeward Shores Drive
Set on a ridge overlooking West Grand Traverse Bay, this four-bedroom, five-and-a-half-plus-bathroom modern residence on 1.22 acres offers a sleek silhouette and series of clean forms set amid timbers and freshwater. Its exterior composition of concrete, steel, composite siding, and glass openings complement an interior materiality and spatial ambiance inspired by the four elements of earth, water, wind, and air where each room provides extensive views, light, and a strong connection to its surrounding environment. The property is listed by Roger Schaub, broker and owner of Schaub Team Premier Realty of Suttons Bay, Michigan, at $2.65 million. Designed by Michael Fitzhugh, AIA, NCARB, of Michael Fitzhugh Architect-PLC of Traverse City,…
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En Masse
Set amid a row of iconic Greystone buildings along California Ave. in Chicago, Illinois, the grid-like façade of concrete and glass on the En Masse Architecture and Design Ltd. studio presents a bold juxtaposition with its environment at first glance. Its poured-in place, brise-soleil creates a patterned effect where vertical fins of concrete lend an added layer of complexity to the grey-hued limestone of the historic residential building style inherent to Chicago, and bring an energy and dynamic tension to the creative conversation within its architectural landscape. Minimalist in design, the studio is more than a composition of its brise-soleil—an architectural solution popularized and initially designed for climatic challenges by…
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Design Within Reach
Design Within Reach Inc., a furniture and furnishings resource and manufacturer, announced on April 15, 2022 its first Michigan location with the opening of a new studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While its first brick-and-mortar presence in the state, the roughly 4,440-square-foot space is now the brand’s 35th location within a national footprint. Design Within Reach is a source of modern design solutions for residential and retail customers through retail studios in North America. The company was originally founded in 1998 by Rob Forbes, after he gained an appreciation for clean, simple designs for the home while living in London. Upon moving to the United States, he realized that those…
