October 10, 2026 | DESIGN & INTERIORS
LAKESIDE HOUSE
words Noah Mercer
photos Rafael Gamo
In Birmingham, Michigan, Disbrow Iannuzzi’s Lakeside house sits within a mature landscape shaped over more than four decades by its owner. The River Rouge runs through the site, while gardens, sculptural works and layered planting form a setting as considered as the architecture itself.
The client, a former curator of Asian art and gallery owner, brought a distinct personal context to the project. Her collection of handcrafted objects, along with her family’s history in the lumber industry, became part of the brief. Disbrow Iannuzzi translated these references into the architecture through a limited material palette, framed views and a close relationship with the collection.
TWO MATERIALS, MANY EXPRESSIONS
The house is built around two primary materials: white ash and black slate. All of the slate came from the same quarry. Across the house, it appears as roofing, wall stone and honed horizontal surfaces; crushed material is used at the driveway, while offcuts were gathered into gabions. As the light changes throughout the day, the stone’s veining and texture become more or less pronounced.
Inside, white ash provides a quieter counterpoint. Used across ceilings, walls and floors, the timber was selected for its linear appearance. One of the most distinctive pieces is a long bench made from a single plank of ash, created to display bronze castings from the client’s collection.
FRAMING THE COLLECTION
The collection is treated as part of the architecture rather than as a decorative layer. Objects sit naturally alongside timber, stone and glass within the spatial composition.
The client’s background in Asian art also informs the way the house frames its surroundings. Full-height glass walls offer carefully composed views of the garden and topography rather than a single uninterrupted panorama.
Disbrow Iannuzzi relates these framed scenes to the composition of Japanese woodblock prints in the client’s collection: the layering of foreground and background, and the idea of experiencing the landscape through a sequence of views.
A LANDSCAPE SEEN FROM WITHIN
The slate exterior gives the house a dark, monolithic presence, while each opening reveals the warmer timber interior behind it. Windows and doors are recessed to control direct sun, allowing winter light deeper into the house while providing shade during warmer months.
As the studio describes it, the landscape was conceived to be experienced from within the house rather than as a backdrop. Planting, ground surfaces and sculptural works were arranged accordingly, with each room oriented towards a different part of the site.
What holds Lakeside together is this sense of continuity — between stone and timber, the collection and the architecture, and the rooms and the landscape beyond.
