residential architecture
April 5, 2021
Thanks to Michigan BLUE for featuring our Hamlin Lake Cabin!
March 24, 2021
Thanks to Great Lakes by Design for featuring our Clearwater Beach house!
February 1, 2020
Thanks to Michigan BLUE Magazine for featuring the story of our Gun Lake Residence in the February 2020 issue.
May 9, 2019
The owner was able to secure a serene vacant lot in an established neighborhood in the City of Grand Rapids, which backs on to a beautiful wooded parcel to the north. The goal of the project was first and foremost to design a home that met contextual needs from the street-side, but took full advantage of the unique natural setting in the rear. MMA saw the opportunity for horizontal extension of the residence to quiet the home and ground it into its surroundings, and in so doing maximize rear courtyard space for a homeowner who has long term permaculture aspirations. A detached garage was used to take full advantage of side-setback requirements. Additionally, the garage completes the open courtyard and creates an open moment of outdoor reception to the secluded outdoor space. The L-shaped plan form created a simple diagram for living–a public arm of space that includes the mudroom, kitchen, dining, and living room, then a private arm of space with office, bedrooms and bathrooms. To accentuate the difference in use and experience, a 12 ft high wood ceiling space covers the public area, allowing ample clerestory light, while a lower ceiling provides intimacy, punctuated by skylights, in the […]
January 31, 2019
The family intelligently acquired a piece of property whose natural attributes eclipsed its suburban surroundings. The lot lines create a compressed, modest street presence and then expand in a gesture to the unique pointed setting on the Thornapple River, with a 200 degree water view. The concept of a long, welcoming landscape to a house that re-dramatizes the opening to a river view was foundational for the design process. Thinking about the house as a threshold to the river experience was an organizational tool for the project. A three story central core is a quotation of the outdoors—a large interior void around which all the individual uses of the house are organized. The core welcomes, but also negotiates egress between offset levels on either side. A large semi-public living room with high ceilings and prominent river views couple with the Master suite above to comprise the southern half of the house. Family function is supported to north: an expansive casual living, dining, and kitchen area on the main level, and children’s bedrooms and play area on the second level. At the highest point of the house, the third level provides multi-directional views and is reserved for focused work, reflection, wellness, […]
December 5, 2018
Thanks to the Grand Rapids Magazine for featuring both our Deer Haven House and our Romence house in their December 2018 issue. We were excited to see our Deer Haven House on the cover. The issue is available at newsstands around Grand Rapids now! “At first glance, passersby might not assume that two homes — one on a large, secluded plot in the woods of Cascade, the other on a small lot in residential Grand Rapids — have much in common beyond a modern façade. They would be surprised to discover, however, that the homes, while unique in their own ways, share striking similarities once you step through their thresholds.” Read more of an excerpt of the article found online HERE. Read more about Deer Haven House HERE and Romence House HERE