Balancing two materials—white ash and black slate—the Lakeside project from studio Disbrow Iannuzzi feels like cutting into an apple: dark on the outside, warm within.
The Y-shaped home sits on a parklike setting in Birmingham, Michigan, serving as a stunning backdrop to an extensive collection of handcrafted objects belonging to its homeowner, a former Asian art curator and gallery owner. Slate, sourced from a single quarry, appears in multiple forms throughout the 4,000-square-foot residence: split into roof shingles, cleft and cut for wall stone, slabbed and honed for horizontal surfaces, crushed and compacted at the driveway, and collected into gabion retaining structures. Throughout the day, textures shift as the sun moves, revealing veining and variation in softer light, then dramatic shadows when the sun is direct. Meanwhile, white ash boards on the ceiling, wall, and floor surfaces anchor the interior with their consistent linear appearance and quiet warmth.
Deep-set, floor-to-ceiling glass walls frame dramatic views of the landscape and River Rouge running through the property. The subtlety of the interiors draws focus to the layered plantings, surfaces, and sculptural bronze castings in the client’s collection, which are displayed on a fifteen-foot ash plank featuring contrasting cathedral grain.
A play of light, texture, and object, the dwelling forges a connection between built and natural worlds. As the studio notes, “The landscape not only inspires the interiors, but becomes part of it, forging a connection between the built and the natural worlds that infuses and enhances the day-to-day life of the residents,” says Disbrow Iannuzzi.
Photography © Rafael Gamo