Back to Index

2018 Award Winners

<

Single-Family Custom

One-of-a-Kind Custom or Spec Home 3,001 - 4,000 sq. ft.

>

Cascade Modern

Platinum

Grand Rapids, Mich.

Architect/Designer | J. Visser Design

Builder | New Urban Home Builders LLC

Landscape Architect/Designer | Rooks Landscaping

Interior Designer | Rock Kauffman Design

Photographer | gs Studios

The goal was to showcase how excellence in design and craftsmanship are possible when an architect, builder, and interior designer are given freedom to collaborate with few restrictions. This architectural home functions as the builder’s family residence, as a design and technology demonstration space for clients, and as a venue for professional gatherings.

A design challenge was to make the home’s three modular sections feel larger from the inside than they look from the outside. It was met by defining interior spaces throughout the home with an interplay of coziness and spaciousness via juxtaposed 8-  and 16-foot  ceilings, and opening the home to its wooded setting through liberal use of large, double-hung windows.

Though modern, the home is warmed with Douglas fir trim, wood floors, and eclectic, high-gloss, wood-grained laminate in the kitchen. Key features include home automation and a design motif carried in from the exterior siding to similarly sided interior accent walls, a custom stair railing, and a hidden soundproofing door in the basement.

From the Judges
The purity of the forms is arresting, and judges loved the oversized double-hung windows that are taken down to the floor. The chevron floor in parts of the home is a nice detail, the glass-enclosed porch is exceptional and rare, and the massive fireplace is thoughtfully scaled for the size of the room.

Thank you to our Supporters

Media Partner