Hills Residence

Hills Residence

This home was built for a young family of five who wanted to simplify the way they live. Sited in a Detroit neighborhood full of mid-century ranches, the project builds upon the tradition of Modern residential architecture while looking forward to environmental stewardship.  A prefabricated structural system, reclaimed waste stream materials, and a highly efficient building envelope are just some of the green elements that come together to create the unique, high-performance structure.  Embracing eco-friendly building practices led to the selection of materials with unique aesthetic qualities that became vital aspects of the home’s design.

From the road, the low-sloping hipped roof seems in context with its neighbors. Taking advantage of the existing grades that fall away to the perimeter of the property, the hip roof is not seen as you walk around the home. Instead you look up to a continuous, rectangular wood surface that ties together the home’s three organizational zones. These zones (public, family and service) eliminate unneeded space and are distinguished by the materials used to construct them. The public area is defined by glass partitions set into a post & beam wood frame. Covered exterior areas become extensions of the public area and open the interior to the site. Surfaces are continuous inside and out at this part of home, reinforcing the feeling of a single space. Book-ending the central public area are the wood-clad family zone and the stone-clad service zone. The warm colors of the wood create a comfortable family area while the slate creates a sense of permanence and stability.

Disbrow Iannuzzi also acted as construction manager, working on-site throughout the construction of the home and, in some cases, building specific parts of the house.  During construction, a shop was setup in the basement to pre-cut and pre-drill each piece of ipê before it was finished by the painter.