The Reserve at Lake Keowee
Sunset, SC
The design challenge
This lake house expresses its time and place with a forward-looking aesthetic that respects the traditional design of neighboring homes. Located in The Reserve at Lake Keowee, the 2-story 4,500 SF lakefront home is situated within the privacy of an oak and hickory forest setting. It features intimate, clear water cove access to the southwest and long lake views to the southeast. The site-generated design balances the client’s desire for dramatic lake views with the need to preserve their privacy. It also harnesses the site’s consistent prevailing breezes and solar access, while preserving its topography and natural features.
Striking the right balance
Balancing the clients’ Los Angeles-inspired aesthetic with the traditional neighborhood architectural standards led to a restrained, simple, architectural solution, one that remains true to the aspirations of both client and community. Traditional materials, such as native stone, vertical shiplap cedar siding and cedar shake roof material, form a palette for a restrained, modern aesthetic. The short bridge to the front entrance juxtaposes a dramatic breezeway bridge, connecting the car park and guest cottage to the grilling station and lakeside porch. This modern breezeway design, with its structural expression and simple, cantilevered low-slope form, provides a counterpoint to the traditional form of the front entrance.
These floating design elements minimize the impact on the natural topography of the site and preserve the mixed hardwood forest to the greatest extent possible. The natural design solution includes a dry stream bed to manage rainwater and native plants to restore the site disturbance zone. These design elements will sustain the site’s natural assets and provide resilience for the future.
The design solution emphasizes the use of natural systems to provide comfort and enhance wellness for the occupants. Fenestration on the windward and leeward faces of the home is specifically tuned to the prevailing breeze, down to the orientation of the casement window operation. Overhangs and porch features are also specifically tuned to the solar orientation, maximizing indirect daylight while minimizing solar gain during the warm season. The building envelope design uses advanced framing techniques, open cell foam insulation and other air sealing measures for a significant reduction of the home’s HVAC load. Intentional selection of formaldehyde-free and low-VOC interior finishes preserve indoor air quality. Lake loop geothermal HVAC and phase one domestic water heating provide the technology to further reduce the carbon footprint, while maximizing occupant comfort.
In summary, the design balances aesthetic requirements often seen as conflicting, while honoring the site’s natural features and minimizing the overall carbon footprint with a simple, honest solution.
[materials]:
Shiplap cedar siding, native stone masonry, board formed concrete, cedar shake roof, steel and wood timber frame.
