Structural Engineering Companies in Grand Rapids

“Based on their reputation for understanding and appreciating modern design, we hired Lucid as Architects of Record for a house I designed for a deep, wooded in-town lot, which was the site of an historic carpenter gothic home dating from the mid-19th century that was preserved and moved to an adjacent town. We are a married couple who have had second home in Saugatuck, Michigan for many years. We share a deep appreciation for modern architecture, art, and design. We love our seasonal life in Saugatuck enjoying time with family and friends; enjoying the long days boating, surrounded by a community with a tradition of appreciation for the arts. Having grown up in West Michigan, I was very influenced by mid-20th century architecture and design—much of which originated regionally. My grandfather built many innovative structures in west Michigan, including the Eames-designed house for the DePree family that founded and led Herman Miller. The Pleasant Street floor plan is as I designed it in 2015 on a rainy Saturday while living in San Francisco after abandoning a less purely modern plan which I had been refining over the previous couple of years. Scale drawings of the final revised design were provided to Eric DeWitt, who served as consulting architect (Lucent Architecture, Zeeland, Michigan). Given the strong design sensibility I brought to the project, I was initially very unsure about working with an architecture firm that has a reputation for the strength of their designs and has received significant recognition for their work. I was extremely happy with the project from end-to-end. Eric and team were terrific to work with, and highly responsive to and understanding of the home we were creating. I'm very proud that the house won the residential design award for 2017 from the West Michigan chapter of the AIA. The house was extraordinarily complex in terms of engineering, siting, and structure and Lucid handled all of these challenges with tremendous skill. The structure was sited between six 160 year-old white and red oak trees preserved on the property. And the house is as close to the street as possible, continuing the form of in-town living we have enjoyed on the front screened porch of our 1908 Arts & Crafts house a block away which we maintain as a guest house. The front great room (48’ x 22’) is intentionally ‘public;’ the furniture-like wall (inspired by Mies’ Farnsworth house) creates privacy for all other rooms—even with no window coverings. No rooms have interior walls that connect with the outer perimeter of the house, echoing a design element of our 1958 E. Stewart Williams house in Palm Springs, CA. The informal orientation of the entrance, screened porch, large open kitchen and garage are intended to encourage spontaneous interactions with anyone who stops by. We entertain often, but always casually—mostly brunches, cocktails, and cookouts. The kitchen of the house is designed to encourage guests to always feel welcome and comfortable. Guests can circulate around the outer perimeter of the food prep area allowing everyone to participate in the conversation. And there is a clean-up kitchen behind the cooktop. Our collection of furniture and art is placed so as to create a welcoming, accessible environment for friends and family. My husband designed the landscaping with each area devoted to a different color of cutting flowers. Perhaps the hardest thing about designing a house for the Michigan lakeshore, is to create a home that lives comfortably inside and outside during the warm, humid summer months, and equally well during the bitter cold, snowy winter. West Michigan’s winter climate has more than double the amount of typical annual snowfall at its latitude, given the town’s proximity on the east side of Lake Michigan. The hydronic heated concrete floors of the main level, basement, sidewalks and garage all serve to make the house a quiet, comfortable environment during the inclement months. The basement is unfinished. The pool table, ping pong table, and unfinished concrete floor, are all reminiscent of our childhood growing up in climates from which one has to frequently escape—especially during the winter months. While we still love our arts & crafts bungalow, as we are in our late 50s, one motivation for the design of the Pleasant Street house was the ability to live on one level, with no steps. The house is designed to be wheelchair accessible so this can remain our home in which to live and entertain for as long as possible.”

“We have worked with Pennings & Sons on several different projects and they have always been a pleasure to work with. Everyone on their staff is very knowledgeable and professional. They pay close attention to detail and take pride in their work. We would highly recommend Pennings & Sons for your building/remodeling needs!”

“Thompson Remodeling never disappoints. No matter the size of the job Ben and his staff are professional, timely and respectful of your home. I would highly recommend Thompson Remodeling for your upcoming projects.”