Brian Johnsen, AIA, and Sebastian Schmaling, AIA, spent a year taking trips to the wooded, lakeside site two hours from their Milwaukee office. They absorbed the property's every nuance, from the bark patterns on the trees to the colors of the leaves at different times of the year. The two-story home's layout is simple: two bars, laid perpendicularly to one another. Johnsen and Schmaling tucked the lower, bedroom level into a steep hillside and placed the public rooms upstairs.
The project's linear forms highlight the judges' favorite feature—an exterior envelope of cedar and glass interspersed with Prodema, a wood-veneer product containing a resin-bonded cellulose core. The Prodema panels, sit about 4 inches forward for a layering effect. Within its striking enclosure, the house continues to immerse its dwellers in the immediate natural environment. Windows extend from the concrete floors all the way up to the clear-sealed MDF ceilings to maximize lake and forest views. Folding glass doors transform a screened porch into an extension of the main living space. On the lower level, varied-width strips of cedar embedded in an exposed-concrete retaining wall recall the woods outside. Traditional items interpreted in a modern manner, such as exposed beams of engineered wood and a steel-clad central fireplace, update the lake cottage vernacular.

principals in charge / project architects / landscape designers / interior designers: Brian Johnsen, AIA, and Sebastian Schmaling, AIA, Johnsen Schmaling Architects; general contractor: Jesse Burg, Gale Burg Construction, Malone, Wis.; project size: 2,700 square feet; site size: 2.5 acres; construction cost: $260 per square footsource: residentialarchitect.com