Set on the shore of Lake Okoboji in rural Iowa, this residence was conceived as a series of spatial sequences that flow into the lake beyond. This design motif is most apparent in the joined kitchen-and-living-room space, where floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors frame views of the lake and surrounding oaks.

In the kitchen, white plastic-laminated baltic-birch cabinets and stainless-steel countertops are complemented by colored concrete floors and a horizontally laminated plywood island that floats above the ground on stainless-steel legs. A 10-by-10-foot skylight lined with translucent polycarbonate panels pierces through the space above to provide natural lighting during the day; strip lights behind the panels illuminate the kitchen at night.