Claremont House, Chicago, USA

21 May 2009

Claremont House, Chicago, USA

Brad Lynch of Brininstool and Lynch architects has replaced his family bungalow of 17 years with a modern rectilinear block. The three-storey Claremont House in Chicago is now a showcase for the practice’s modernist philosophy on design.

Product description

Five feet lower than its predecessor; Lynch’s house has a unique entry from the street onto a mezzanine landing between the first floor and basement. The staircase, which runs east to west along the house’s length, creates a bright cross section, crowned by a skylight and punctuated by landings. While the stairs’ open risers filter natural light and cast striated patterns on the unadorned Benjamin Moore white painted walls, they also align with the operable windows for cross ventilation, while embedded lighting at the foot of each stairway illuminates the stair tread.

Dividing the vertical circulation from the rooms is a non-structural volume of cabinets with concealed storage. The two-and-a-quarter-inch, quarter-sawn, red oak paneled cabinetry pierces the levels with continuous clean lines. At either end of the first floor, zinc frames hold 3m by 4m sheets of glass that flood the kitchen and living room with light and according to Lynch, ‘connects to the neighborhood... like a contemporary version of a front porch’. The top floor bedrooms are more private, however, and are decked out with Second Shift drapes designed by Suzanne Tick for Knoll Textiles.

The minimal kitchen hosts elegant Bertoia bar stools by Knoll, that line up at a stainless steel island by Arclinea, mirrored by a stainless steel G-Beam luminaire by Gammalux. Citing influence from Mies and Le Corbusier, Lynch has designed a burgundy leather bench and sofa, both with brushed nickel legs, and a black walnut and nickel coffee table, as well as a side table that houses the PH Glass Table Lamp by Louis Poulsen. Neutrally colored Frog chairs by Lissoni and a floor-to-ceiling cabinet offers relief from the hard shapes of the Florence Knoll armchairs and rectilinear spaces.