Envisioned by New York-based architects Gluck+, House to the Beach was designed to encapsulate the atmosphere of West Coast living and transport it to a serene Midwestern lakeside location. Built for a large family of seven, the property is situated on a sandy stretch of private beach on the shores of Lake Michigan, bringing life to a picturesque plot that had been empty for over a decade.
Designed in direct response to the neighbouring Baha’i Temple, House to the Beach is minimal and refined, offsetting the temple’s ornamental facade. When entering the building from the street level – via the property's second floor – visitors are greeted by the structure’s main stairwell and the home’s family room and media lounge, both located adjacent to the children’s bedrooms. When descending the main stair, the internal programme slowly unfolds, as the visitor travels through the library before heading downwards, towards the home’s generous public areas that open out directly onto the beach.
Take an interactive tour of House to the Beach
The beach house’s minimal and subdued façade was designed to act as a subtle backdrop to the neighbouring grid of trees planted in the parking forecourt. Black stained cypress wood appears sporadically along the home’s base, creating the illusion that the upper levels float, and adding warmth and depth to the home’s exterior shell.
Materials were selected to enhance the spatial experience of each room; terrazzo stairs, for instance, provide texture. Vibrant splashes of colour make a calculated appearance throughout the property; the striking forest green curtain, situated midway down the main stair and hung on a circular track, provides a prime example. This gesture creates a moment of privacy for the nearby bedroom wing, while creating an intimate nook for relaxing and reading.
The three-storey home is open towards the beach, where stretches of lawn can also be seen, covering part of the property
The design also offsets the aesthetics for the neighbouring Baha’i Temple and its ornate facade
The internal program was composed as a response to the house’s context, taking into account the angle of the neighbouring main road and the 40-foot elevation from road to beach
When entering the property from the street level, visitors are greeted by the home’s main stairwell, which leads down to the private spaces
Floor-to-ceiling windows provide the bedrooms with stunning panoramic lake views
The living spaces are open-plan and flooded with light. A mezzanine houses the property’s library
The minimalist main staircase links all floors, right through to the lowest, partially submerged level
Materials were selected for their ability to enhance the interior’s spatial experience, explain the architects
Colour was implemented strategically in the design; for example, a curtain in forest green, situated midway down the main stair, also provides a moment of privacy for the nearby bedroom wing
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Gluck+ website
Photography: Paul Warchol
-
Brazilian design has a new home in LondonTomorrow (October 16 2025), JIG Studio lands in London. The design collective will serve as a gallery, retail destination and cultural platform for Brazilian creatives
-
Like a modernist iceberg, this Krakow house has a perfectly chiselled façadeA Krakow house by Polish architecture studio UCEES unites brutalist materialities with modernist form
-
Leo Costelloe turns the kitchen into a site of fantasy and uneaseFor Frieze week, Costelloe transforms everyday domesticity into something intimate, surreal and faintly haunted at The Shop at Sadie Coles
-
Ballman Khaplova creates a light-filled artist’s studio in upstate New YorkThis modest artist’s studio provides a creative with an atelier and office in the grounds of an old farmhouse, embedding her practice in the surrounding landscape
-
The most important works of modernist landscape architecture in the USModernist landscapes quite literally grew alongside the modern architecture movement. Field specialist and advocate Charles A. Birnbaum takes us on a tour of some of the finest examples
-
Jeanne Gang’s single malt whisky decanter offers a balance ‘between utility and beauty’The architect’s whisky decanter, 'Artistry in Oak', brings a sculptural dimension to Gordon & MacPhail's single malt
-
An idyllic slice of midcentury design, the 1954 Norton House has gone on the marketNorton House in Pasadena, carefully crafted around its sloping site by Buff, Straub & Hensman, embodies the Californian ideal of the suburban modern house embedded within a private landscape
-
Herzog & de Meuron and Piet Oudolf unveil Calder Gardens in PhiladelphiaThe new cultural landmark presents Alexander Calder’s work in dialogue with nature and architecture, alongside the release of Jacques Herzog’s 'Sketches & Notes'. Ellie Stathaki interviews Herzog about the project.
-
Meet Studio Zewde, the Harlem practice that's creating landscapes 'rooted in cultural narratives, ecology and memory'Ahead of a string of prestigious project openings, we check in with firm founder Sara Zewde
-
The best of California desert architecture, from midcentury gems to mirrored dwellingsWhile architecture has long employed strategies to cool buildings in arid environments, California desert architecture developed its own distinct identity –giving rise, notably, to a wave of iconic midcentury designs
-
A restored Eichler home is a peerless piece of West Coast midcentury modernismWe explore an Eichler home, and Californian developer Joseph Eichler’s legacy of design, as a fine example of his progressive house-building programme hits the market
