Private Residence
Birmingham, Michigan
In 1993 Gabellini Sheppard Associates was commissioned to design a new home for Linda Dresner on a 11/2 acre site in an exclusive Victorianera suburb in Birmingham, Michigan. The client owns two fashion boutiques designed by GS, characterized by their minimal but luxurious quality. Ms. Dresner and GS share the sentiment that a fashion boutique or a home environment should be a quiet backdrop or stagewhether for fashion, artwork or the simple activities of daily lifereflecting a sense of quality commensurate with the activity within. In keeping with this, a primary goal of the project was to create an environment suitable for the display of the exquisite art and furniture collection of the client.
In contrast to the surrounding residences, the 6,000 squarefoot twolevel home is wrapped in a simple skin of white concrete. The main entrance is not visible from the street, being discreetly located behind the main home volume similar in concept to the entrance of a Japanese ryokan. Carefully placed windows precisely frame views to the outside while maintaining large expanses of uninterrupted wall area for art display. Natural light floods into the doubleheight dining room through glass terrace doors, effectively spreading lightness throughout the home. The ground level public spaces, including the dining and living areas and kitchen, are interconnected volumes that promote a casual spiral movement around a doubleheight volume enclosing a fireplace and a centrally located stair. The private bedroom areas of the second level are a floating platform over the public areas of the home. Natural materials including bluestone, white sivec marble and mahogany flooring and stainless steel kitchen cabinetry complement the architectural rigor of the environment.
Photographs courtesy of Conde Nast.
