SHORELINES

6 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2016 Vol :3 Architect Bobby McAlpine sounds almost poetic, his voice growing church-soft and, at the same time, kid-at- Christmas exuberant when he talks about lakes. It seems he loves them. He loves the trees that artfully frame them, the canopy of sky that arches overhead, the fact that nature plays out a palette of soothing colors – and the joyful reality that, again and again, he is called to design houses on lakes throughout the world. That includes dozens of houses on Lake Martin, his personal favorite. Listen to the love between the lines as he reflects on his affair with the lake: "I really find it to be a Muse," he begins. "As much as the water is present and the trees hold you as you witness the setting, there's also a lot that's not there – the town is not there, your hours and your minutes are not sold in little megabytes all day long, there's no place to go, you've probably brought in your own food, and so your whole tuning gets recalibrated in that setting. I've found it to be a healing, curative environment to me." When you look at it that way, who wouldn't want a lake house? When he arrives at his own home on Lake Martin (nearly every weekend), McAlpine admits, "A big broad smile comes over my face. Every house I've had at the lake always seems terribly glad to see me when I walk in, so it's almost an unsaid blessing or prayer." Left: Photo by WynTer Byrd — Bobby McAlpine relaxing on the porch of the Odom home at Willow Point on Lake Martin. "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 L AKE." – A R C H I T E C T B O B B Y M C A L P I N E , R E C A L L I N G H I S F I R S T V I S I T T O L A K E M A R T I N .

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