Publisher’s Note

Welcome to Michigan Residential Architects (MIRA). The aim of this publication is to connect Michigan Residential Architects and Industry Partners in the Design and Construction industry with the general public and raise awareness of the importance of architecture and design in everyday life.

MIRA is a ground breaking community of design professionals. Our purpose is to support and inspire quality design work with the most influential and talented professionals and Industry Partners in our state.

Sixteen (16) leading residential architectural firms in Michigan came together to form Michigan Residential Architects in the Fall of 2019 to foster relationships within the Design Community and promote exceptional work in the residential real estate market. The founding members invited valued colleagues in the Design and Construction Industry to join and network with the MIRA architects. These Industry Partners include respected landscape architects, interior designers, luxury home builders, real estate professionals, artisan craftsmen, flooring professionals, construction material suppliers and construction trades such as cabinetmakers, window and door manufacturers and audio visual specialists.

The featured architectural firms have spent years honing their craft and have created award winning and sustainable projects. Their commitment to their clients, sites and budgetary constraints have resulted in harmonious dwellings dotting every region of the state and across the nation.

Architects are socially responsible and environmentally conscious. Great architecture speaks volumes and we are proud to feature the state’s finest residential firms presenting and talking about their projects in their own words.

We have partnered with quality Industry Partners who support the architects by taking out full page ads. Without our Industry Partners’ sponsorship, this publication and the further promotion of our profession to the general public would not be possible.

This high quality print magazine is sent to the top evaluated homes across the state of Michigan and in the Metropolitan Chicago area on a bi-annual basis: on or around May 31st and November 30th

A digital version of each MIRA publication is also available online.

The MIRA network is dedicated to promoting collaboration among those who share in the passion of designing and creating an inspiring, well-crafted home.

MIRA Networking Events

MIRA is also a Networking Group bringing together our Industry Partners every quarter to discuss issues concerning the design and construction industry. We have upcoming events scheduled in different parts of the state from Birmingham and Troy to Grand Rapids and Traverse City. Check out the event photos on pages 132-137.

Network on…

MIRA

Michigan Residential Architects

ALLEGRETTI ARCHITECTS

John Allegretti FAIA, LEED-AP

Allegretti Architects is an architectural and planning firm founded on the principles of service, sustainability and excellence, love of the natural environment and people shepherd our firm. We see our mission as architects and planners as a social responsibility and strive to bring best environmental practices and client responsive solutions into harmony in each project. A passion for quality driven decisions are reflected in our architectural solutions. For over 30 years, John Allegretti has been principal architect for over five-hundred projects across the United States and Internationally. Our practice promotes professional excellence of affordable and sustainable residential designs. John's designs are regularly published and distributed world-wide by the home publications industry.

500 Main Street St. Joseph, MI 49085 www.allegrettiarchitects.com 269.983.1100 “A Journey Through Time”

In April of 2019, I met a transnational couple with homes on two continents and two children who wanted a home that would be a permanent living space to call “home”. While looking for existing homes they found one that I had designed in 2005, which they liked. We discussed their program. After learning more about their needs it became clear that the home, they were looking at, would be much too large for them. I suggested that they might want to consider designing a new home on a lot. It is now the fall of 2021 and the home is just being completed. The long design and construction schedule has been the result of the owner being confined in China for a year because of the pandemic and visa restrictions and the relocation of the contractor after the first year to Idaho. Our firm seemed to be the only constant in this construction equation. We coordinated with the owner, the contractor and all of the sub-contractors by email for over a year. The site also offered challenges in that the buildable area was restricted by the front and side yard setbacks and the critical dune Michigan EGLE requirements that disallow construction on slopes greater than thirty-three percent. In order to overcome the absence of both the owner and contractor we have had to dedicate much of our practice to coordinating design as well as the day-to-day implementation of much of the construction. Initially our challenges were confined to developing a 2,200 square foot home on a 20,145 sq.ft. lot that had a buildable contiguous area of 6.4% or 1,289.28 square feet. Our solution was to incorporate the lower level as a basement and the upper two levels as living area. We were able to tuck a virtual golf range in the below grade lower level, as well as an entry, stair, two-car garage, and a mechanical room. The landscaping is underway including a screen wall entry walk and other site work to be completed this fall.

Long Beach Residence - Long Beach, Indiana

The owner’s idea of “home” is minimalist and energy conscious. Their new 2,200 square foot retirement home located on a northern Indiana dune overlooking Lake Michigan is just that.

A central wheel-house kitchen was incorporated into the design to separate the 16 foot high rounded ceilings in the living/dining wing on one side of the kitchen from the bedrooms, laundry, mud room, and garage of the other backstage wing. The entry hall next to the kitchen serves as a transition line between the private and semi-public areas.

Energy conservative sustainable green technologies were integrated into the home including radiant floor heat, high R value soy bean based spray on insulation, 100% recycled glass tile, rigid roof insulation, super insulated foundation walls and slab floor, interior inert non-toxic milk paint, as well as a high efficiency furnace and fireplace.

The exterior walls were articulated according to interior function with terra-cotta red roman brick and colored mortar to match. The backstage wing and entry walls are yellow/buff cement stucco with anodized aluminum channels. A “turf-paved” grass driveway was also incorporated into the design.

Connect to this project on Houzz: http://www.houzz.com/projects/273673/ long-beach-residence

Connect to this project on our website: http://allegrettiarchitects.com/projects/ 2-long-beach-modern-residence

The sense of a Swiss Family Robinson nature setting shaped the small footprint three level approach with a two story attached screen porch restled amongst the trees. A park and walk site with a 24’x32’ main building and an attached 12’ x 20’ two level screen porch that sits tucked in a valley up the side of a hill, and angled to the side for views and ventilation establishes the home amongst the forest of beach, oak, and maple trees.

Seasonal views of Lake Michigan to the west are enhanced by the ascending high dune to the east. Passive winter sun will filter through the forest’s bare branches, minimizing the warming needs for the home, and the rich canopy will shade the home the harsh summer light.