Bold Restraint – Copper Harbor by Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects

Contrasting its natural surrounds, Copper Harbor is inserted as a robust and low-lying refuge amid a lush, dense landscape and below high canopies that stretch overhead. Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects ensures the home is grounded to the site through weighted materiality and a cloaking of corten steel sheets, funnelling views out to the shores of Lake Superior.

The architect cleverly optimises the position of the home between the water and forest, adopting an approach that is responsive to place. As a respectful integration amid the existing and naturally occurring tones on site, the steel-wrapped form aligns with a similar natural palette, ensuring the home’s impact feels recessive. Whilst the manipulation of elements expresses an otherwise rectilinear structure, a calm boldness is created, which frames the connection between inside and out. Being able to live harmoniously with such a location required an equally compelling architectural response, inspiring Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects to delicately weave their proposal amid the existing natural elements.

Whilst the manipulation of elements expresses an otherwise rectilinear structure, a calm boldness is created, which frames the connection between inside and out.

Occasionally subject to the unfavourable climate conditions experienced in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the home’s position required its physical form to be resilient. As a space of retreat for the owners, being able to feel intimately immersed within nature was key and encouraged the form to nestle into the site whilst creating spaces to engage with the landscape. Access to both woodland and water sees the dwelling straddle the cleared site and become its own quiet moment of reprieve. Two distinct volumes, cocooned in sleek metal shells, extend toward the lake, seamlessly fusing indoor and outdoor living. These solid forms strikingly contrast expansive glass walls, inviting nature inside and extending living spaces onto cantilevered decks that seemingly touch the water.

Integrating moments of compression and release, a linear entryway connects the two main volumes, overlaying a clear separation between public and private realms. Whilst one wing groups the various communal spaces, the other supports the sleeping and more passive retreat areas. An additional detached volume is the mountain bike workshop, which adds a layer of amenity yet avoids disturbing the clear delineation of the plan. The space also creates shelter from the elements, protective yet connected to the outdoors. Though the exterior is primarily composed of steel and glass, the integration of veneer plywood adds a textural subtlety to the interior whilst imbuing warmth and a sense of the familiar.

Two distinct volumes, cocooned in sleek metal shells, extend toward the lake, seamlessly fusing indoor and outdoor living.

A private sanctuary away from the demands of urban life, Copper House is enriched by its connection to nature through a grounded approach and cocooning effect. By responding and adapting, Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects ensures the home remains relevant and appropriate for the coming chapters.