The Alpine Lakehouse

Clients:

THE ALPINE
LAKEHOUSE

CONTEMPORARY

The Alpine Lakehouse is the latest design commissioned by a client who wanted to harness Jesse’s creative energy to design a highly modern lakehouse compound inspired by the luxury mansions of the Colorado Mountains. In the past few years, Jesse has been requested to design a number of cottages that feature boat and float plane houses, from Muskoka to Barrie. However, the Alpine Lakehouse is one of our favorites to date. It is located in the Shanty Bay area on the shores of Lake Simcoe, and is set on a prestigiously on a large lot.

As always, Jesse starts his design process with sketching, developing his design vision organically until the design communicates the feeling he originally had when he first thought of it. From this point, Jesse and his team bring the home to life in 3D rendered form to provide an accurate depiction of the final design intent, materials, and environment. The final exterior materials selected for this unique lakehouse include rustic limestone to juxtapose the sleekly modern proportions and aluminum features throughout the exterior of the home. Sleek is the word we would associate with this design as its “L” shaped footprint creates a low and wide feel that works against the 24-foot height of the structure. The result is that the home almost feels built into the hill, creating the effect that as it was carefully placed among the surrounding natural features

Working with lots that have unique topographic or natural features is always a favorite of Jesse’s, especially when the lot is large enough to incorporate unique proportions and footprints. In this case, he designed a long, winding driveway that curved towards the garages that were tucked off to the side. This creates a luxurious and spacious feeling front courtyard that is inviting for guests to drive up to.
This footprint design serves a greater purpose than our followers might realize at first glance however. When the grade drops off at the rear of a property, what most don’t consider is the slope stability testing that we will have to review to ensure that amenities, such as a pool, aren’t susceptible to sinking and erosion; essentially, you don’t want to get too close to the hill. In this case, extending the garage towards the front of the home allowed us to prioritize the exterior amenity placements at the rear while still achieving the square footage required for the living spaces. This both reduces conflict with site conditions and aids in the creation of an indoor/outdoor that creates a flow that transcends spaces.

The proportions of this home allow for the building to span the impressive width of the lot. Across much of this span, Jesse incorporated floor-to-ceiling windows at both the front and rear of the home in order to harness both the north-facing ambient morning light and the direct south-facing afternoon light. These windows also beautifully frame the views of the lake from almost every room in the house. In some cases, Jesse is forced to put the natural light requirements before aesthetic features, as seen in the image to the left, when he created light wells in the front soffit overhangs that reduce their shading impact on the interior spaces. These light wells also allow Jesse to specify full sun plant species in the gardens he placed in front of these windows.

As per his usual process, Jesse also completed hand-sketched site plans that outline the footprint, sun’s approximate positions at different times of day, setbacks, existing natural features, landscape design features, and exterior amenities. This is an integral part of his process as it is during this phase that he initially formulates the early phase strategy for his master-planning process, taking into consideration all aspects of the project, including custom home design, interior design, and landscape design, to create a seamless sense of connection between the finished products of these three design disciplines.

The exterior landscape design and amenity layouts were also master-planned through the initial site planning process. They were developed with an entertainer’s dream in mind, as the exterior pool deck was set at the same height as the interior floor joists to create a seamless feel when these two spaces meet at the accordion door openings. The impact of this simple feature is also experienced when sitting in the great room looking out of the three-sided peninsula window wall with direct views of the pool. This concept creates a sense of connection despite the spaces being partitioned by a sheet of glass.

These great room window walls were also designed to harness a wealth of South-facing natural light while perfectly framing the views of Lake Simcoe. Thinking about what you see through these windows is always a concern of Jesse’s that inevitably increases the quality of any design you apply this approach to. It benefitted the design in another way that some might not realize at first glance as well. Completing views of the interior of the great room looking out contributed to the final elevation of the cohesively designed boat house being set lower so as to not impede the views of the lake from the living room. It also resulted in the development of the distinct garden and lighting design.

Jesse designed a stylistically cohesive boat house that contributes to the “compound-esque” amenities and feel he desired for this property. Having multiple structures that share design inspiration creates a sense of connection between the structures, furthering the sense of the compound sprawling to every corner of the property. It also adds a luxurious amenity that is home to a guest house, boats, kayaks, paddle boards, as well as swimming docks.

By taking drone photos of the lot, we are able to compare our design against the existing site conditions. This practice aids us in being able to accurately depict what the home will look like upon completion among the existing natural features on the lot. To the right you can see the existing cottage, grading, and proximity of the structure to the lake. Below you can see a top view of the plot we are working with.