7
Shor e l i n e S
|
2016 Vol :3
What he
designs for the rest
of us is a blessing
as well. And it all
started with his
first visit to Lake
Martin just after
launching his architecture business at age 25. The magic
took hold, significantly, on his birthday.
"I didn't grow up on a lake – we didn't have that as an
asset circumstantially or monetarily in my early life – so my
present to myself was a week on the lake alone to draw and
listen to music. A friend of mine had a little original cabin,
very primitive. A metal shower, no a/c, a giant box fan on
wheels you'd roll around."
The result? "I had never felt so at home in my life. I
decided I wanted to build a house for myself on the shores of
the lake," he says.
It was the first of many lake designs, this boxy structure,
almost a treehouse, with 44 continuous windows wrapping
around all sides. "The windows never stopped," says
McAlpine, a big fan of windows that showcase views of water
and woods. "Ultimately, it looked like a big sleeping porch
or barracks made for a WPA project to sleep men who were
building the dams. It was very much a house a boy would
build for himself."
Top: Photo courtesy of kriS kendrick — The front elevation of this home glows in the afternoon sun.
Inset: Photo courtesy of SuSan Sully — The colors, materials and layout all work in unison to complement the beauty of the lake.
