This project was a proposal for a lakehouse located on Possum Kingdom Lake.  The project
began with a studio trip to the lake to study the site and its context and explore possibilities for
our own individual sites. 
 

Upon returning to studio, we were assigned three materials to use as structure, spanning and
cladding.   The materials assigned to me are concrete for the structure, steel for the spanning
and metal for the cladding.  The only other restriction for the project was to maintain a twenty
foot wide by an unspecified length for the interior or air conditioned space.
 

I began by looking at the architects and projects recommended on the program.  These included
Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood, Charles Eames and others of which were some of the architects
commisioned to design the California Case Study Houses.
 

My initial idea was to create a linear space that appeared to emerge from the hillside.  This is
achieved through the extension of a thick concrete retaining wall out towards the lake.  This
wall exists as a divider between the interior and exterior spaces.  The wall was initially the west
interior wall of which the circulation ran alongside.
 

The initial plan was based on a five foot grid.  I placed the concrete support columns on the
outside of the interior space and ran an I-beam from one column to the other.  This combination
allowed for the free plan.
 

Eventually the interior circulation space became the exterior circluation space, or outside
hallway.  I also cut several slits in the thick wall to create framed views to the pool and lake from
both inside the house and from the outside hallway.  Now when approaching the house, you are
directed towards the outside hallway.  When you look straight, you see the lake.  As you continue
walking you pass by the many slits in the wall.  These slits are allowing the pool to reflect on the
triple sliding glass doors to the house and at the same time are allowing you the framed views.
When you look up you see the massive steel beams seemingly flying over you.  Within the beams
is a metal sun screening device that may be retracted on cooler days, or extended out on hot
sunny days.  At the end of the hallway the pool seemingly wraps around the end of the house of
which there are stepping stones to pass along.  You enter the house from the exterior hallway,
which forces one to experience this space.
 

The ground floor is divided into four sections based on the divisions of the I-beams.  The ground
floor is primarily glass, made up of both clear and frosted, except the kitchen which is clad in
corten, except for clerestory windows.
 

The stairs run alongside the east wall.  As you ascend, the wall turns from glass to a solid wall
clad in corten.  Light from the linear skylight directs your line of site straight out towards the
master bedroom balcony and lake view.  When you turn around, the skylight directs you towards
the guest bedroom balcony and hillside view.  The mid-section of the second floor is studio
space.  The west wall is glazed, clad with corten louvers.  The roof is a flat roof at the minimum
one quarter per foot slope.  This is also clad in corten.  This gives the entire second floor the
feeling of a rigid box.
 

The master bedroom balcony is canitilevered over the outside ground floor and the roof is
canitilevered even farther over the second floor balcony.  This is done for both shading
purposes and for the experience of standing on the ground and looking up at these massive
cantilevered members.
 

A set of stairs was added to allow one to bypass the hallway and pool and go directly up onto
the landscape.  A second set of stone steps descend slowly down with the landscape towards
the lake.