Pavilion House | Door County, Wisconsin | 2021

Architects: LA DALLMAN Architects Inc.
Design Team: James Dallman, Grace La, Joel Koeppen, Nancy Nichols, Megan Gilfillan, and Haiyin Li
General Contractor: Van's Lumber and Custom Builders Inc.
Client: Mark Hansen
Photographers: Kevin Miyazaki, Photos

Nested along Lake Michigan in Door County Wisconsin, Pavilion House articulates its program in three interconnected pavilions to REST, LIVE and PLAY. Each pavilion is punctuated by a de-centered oculus, which migrates its position for the most optimal spatial location, tipping the roof as necessary.

Each oculus provides primary illumination for the pavilions, balancing the light source from the window wall and creating stack effect for improved natural ventilation. Eschewing the conventional, symmetrical hipped roof which typically relies on collar and rafter ties, the Pavilion House utilizes an innovative truss roof structure which offers a clear volumetric interior.

The pavilions are shaped relative to their natural affinities-- what’s around or within them – leaning toward the light, drawing the separate volumes into relationship with one another and creating newly implied, overlapping spatial centers.

The structural condition also produces the crisp lines of the massing and generates deep overhangs at the windows for optimal natural light and protection against inclement weather.  The aperture positions and proportions are tuned with the soffits and eaves to maximize the relationship to the outdoors and to expand the psychological boundary of the dwelling, allowing this small house to “live large.”

Precise cabinetry and storage benches are integrated to frame the room and the landscape beyond. Pavilion House elevates common materials and forms, such as standard windows, asphalt shingles, and hipped roofs, to propose an alternative to the banal residential construction that dominates America’s suburban landscape.