Unfold Architecture
unfoldarchitecture.com
Mike Gray, AIA; Greg Vose, AIA; Jack Peterson, AIA
The Isle at O’Dowd
Project Type: New Build
Tucked onto a wooded private island on Lake O’Dowd, this modern retreat was designed as both a quiet escape for two and a gathering place for a growing extended family. Surrounded by water on all sides, the site came with a long list of constraints—from shoreline setbacks and septic clearances to elevation requirements and limited buildable area. But those challenges ultimately shaped the design, helping to define where and how the home would come to live on the land.
The result is a three-level home that balances openness with intimacy. The main level includes a primary suite, den, kitchen, and living spaces that connect to a screened porch and roof deck. Upstairs is a guest suite that sleeps four and a small gym tucked into a third-floor “lookout” with sweeping lake views. Downstairs is all about play and gathering: a golf simulator, game room, kitchenette, and bunk room flow out to a rear patio and hot tub.
A central light-filled stairwell ties all three levels together and brings daylight deep into the lower floor. The home’s two garages—originally requested to house a six-car collection—were split into separate upper and lower volumes to help break down the massing and keep the architecture feeling grounded.
Clad in vertical wood-look siding, dark paneling, and board-formed concrete, the material palette reflects the tones and textures of the surrounding landscape. The home feels modern but rooted—an intentional retreat that embraces the island setting while welcoming family for generations to come.
AIA Framework for Design Excellence: Design for Integration
This project called for a careful balance of competing priorities. The site—a densely wooded island surrounded entirely by water—came with significant limitations: DNR shoreline setbacks, septic field clearances, minimum elevation requirements, and a tight buildable envelope. Rather than trying to force a design into the site, we used these constraints to shape how the home was organized from the start.
The clients had a clear goal: to create a long-term family retreat that could host their kids and grandkids but still feel right-sized when it was just the two of them. That balance—between openness and privacy, gathering and retreat—guided every decision. It influenced how we approached the layout, how we handled circulation, and how the home connects to its surroundings.
The design team broke the garage into two parts to reduce visual impact while still meeting the client's needs. They carved a light well at the entry to bring natural light into the lower level and make the vertical circulation feel like part of the main experience. The stair became an organizing element—not just a connector, but something that ties all three levels together.
Material choices were also part of that integration. The wood-look vertical siding, dark cladding, and board-formed concrete all respond to the natural character of the site, helping the home feel grounded in its setting.
In the end, the design is the result of many conversations and iterations—between site conditions, client goals, and design intent. Nothing is doing more than it needs to, but everything is doing more than one thing.
What is the AIA Framework for Design Excellence? Learn more »