STRIEGEL AGACKI STUDIO

West Bend, Wisconsin

4,000 sf New Construction

Sited on a large rural parcel adjacent to long cultivated farm lands, the horizon house takes its inspiration from the architecture of stacked hay bale forms, and reacts to the multiple horizons created by the rolling glacial landscape.  The interior spaces are connected by a series of interconnected and coordinated views across split-floor plates to the near and far horizons beyond.  The materiality and tectonic of the home – inside and out – harken to the simplicity and honesty of materials that may be found in adjacent, rural, farmstead architecture. 

The Greenberg project illustrates the long term commitment we make with our clients.  We first started on the greenberg project in 2008  as a small renovation of the master bathroom.  The project developed into a major renovation which touched all areas of the house, and includes a significant art studio + guest suite addition that is currently under construction.

Much of the work we have done at the greenberg project involved the opening up of smaller more closed off spaces to   create visual and spacial connections to the landscape views of the hollywood hills.  Large windows, corner glass , along with strategically placed mirrors create expansive views and work to  collapse the boundaries of walls and interior space.

The second phase of the Greenberg project includes a 1000 square foot art studio and guest suite addition as well as expansive pool and deck addition.  Located on the edge of a steep site, the owners had little to no space to expand outside and take advantage of the beautiful canyon and hollywood hillside views.

The pool and deck addition posed a significant structural engineering challenge.  As a hillside site, grade beams and piles were utilized to structure the pool and the deck in place.  Steel pipe columns and a web of lateral reinforcement create a beautiful cantilevered structure that stretches out over the hillside below.  The result is an entirely new accessible landscape on the property for the family to enjoy.

The art studio and guest suite addition extends from the existing home at the lower level.  The addition roof splits to allow for a vaulted 12 foot tall working space in the studio and roof deck garden atop the guest suite.  The studio focuses it's energy inward with an intimate garden view while the  guest room floats above the landscape and canyon views beyond.

photos by Laure Joliet

Milwaukee, WI 

14 apartment units, 19,000 sf

 The east terrace apartment is a 14 unit apartment building on the east side of milwaukee.  This simple efficient building is a compact planning solution with a sculptural and material street frontage.  Public volumes are clad in corten steel and balconies are lined with a warm pine boards. 

The Reyes Begler project was our first project in Los Angeles.  The clients wanted to open up and renovate a  small compartmentalized Hollywood cottage from the 40's.  One of the first things we started with was to work to remove all of the interior walls and door frames separating the  major upper level public spaces from one another. The result is a  series of spaces that flow into each other yet still retain their individuality as distinct rooms.  A smooth uninterrupted white ceiling and  walnut floor create a modern space where warmth flows through and connects to each space.

This oceanside residence is located along broad beach in malibu.  The existing site had  3 separate structures on the property:  a garage, guest house and a main house.  The program for the project was to unify the main house and guest house to create a new main structure that would serve the family while still providing a separate guest quarters above the garage.  

The design work focused on creating a singular unified roof line at the house that gathered all of the programmatic spaces below.   The facade is designed as a interlocking form of  dark and light figures of window and wall.   These window frames and dark figures on the face of the building, open up both physically and visually to the ocean while creating an inner courtyard protected from the winds off of the sea.   

Milwaukee, WI

36 apartment units, 45,000 sf

The Carla Ridge project involved the extensive renovation of a midcentury modern home in Beverly Hills.  The scope of work most notably included a renovated  master suite, children's bedroom wing, kitchen, and den. The home's significant existing interior finishes of exposed concrete walls, redwood siding and mahogany doors and windows were retained and enhanced with updated planning, finishes and lighting. 

Michael Striegel was the project designer  with callas-shortridge architects for the carla ridge house.   

photography by Art Gray

The Viewfinder project involved a 1000 sf master suite addition and major renovation of a 1950's Hollywood cottage.   Perched up within the hollywood hills, the design focused on how to create a singular volume for the master suite which would most strongly connect the owner to the view and site.

The master suite was conceived of as a single vessel whose glazed ends create direct visual connections to the cinematic city view (horizontal) and the densely vegetated hillside view (vertical).  Within this second floor wood lined space, custom furniture for the bed, desk, bathtub, and vanity was fabricated to sit lightly within the larger volume of space.  The result is a series of refined objects within large space of wood and views.  

The lower floor was reorganized to create an open floorplan. Kitchen, Den, Living  and Dining all spill out beneath the viewfinder above to  connect to an expansive outdoor terrace and garden.  

The project was done in  collaboration with Tom Gluck.  

SCHEME 1:  BRICK COMPOUND

The buildable perimeter of the site is taken as an extruded shell of brick, almost as if it were an existing found shell of brick on the site.  

Spaces and vessels are inserted into the shell to create the building within  Windows and openings are carved into the brick shell and respond to the needs of the new spaces inserted within the shell.  The result is a continuous facade of brick with a series of irregularly spaced windows, each positioned and shaped to provide both light and view to each space. 

The lower level is organized as a continous flowing series of living and activity spaces that all tap into the main exterior garden spaces at the front and in the courtyard.    Each of the lower level living spaces have a direct access to the gardens.  Upper level bedroom spaces are compactly organized around the central family stair/library.  

Spaces reach up beyond the brick perimeter to pull in sunrise and morning light into the space and elevated sleeping lofts.   Bedroom spaces have 2 scales, one of the lower space consisting of brick and exterior views and one of the upper space- sky and roof garden.

The malibu condominium was a rehabilitation of an existing 1960's condo along the pacific in malibu.  This existing building had some very strong bones and a great presence along pch, but needed to be freshened up.  The overall design strategy focused on identifying and accentuating the strongest features of the building.  We focused on the front facade and worked to create a building that floats above the highway.  Within the facade, we used the existing plaster apertures to frame 3 fields of wood which help to create a simple yet elegant  structured facade of frame, foreground and background.

For the lobby and oceanside pool terrace, we worked to bring the lightness   and openness of the space out.  Within the lobby, the floor and stair were unified in a dark matt of epoxy pebble coating.  Above, the existing open stair was cleaned and painted to articulate the lightness and floating nature of the original structure.  

The Stack project is a multifamily apartment building in Milwaukee.  We are currently in schematic design on this exciting rehabilitation of an existing 1960's brick building.  Two new floors of units are being added to the existing structure.  

We are trying to create a building that has a lightness and contrast between the street level brick and the upper lever glass and metal facade. We believe that the contrast in texture and modernity will provide an animated and elegant street frontage.

kern 

sea ranch 

lucile 

malloy

green 

burbank addition

burbank kitchen

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

3,000 sf  Renovation and Addition

This 1500 square-foot renovation and 1000 square-foot addition to a home on the shore of Lake Michigan attempts to re-ground a visually encumbered home by means of a thickened, connected view of the surrounding landscape knitted to and through the existing construction. The project weaves the existing building together at regional, site and building scales by creating a specific set of perspectival connections to the natural context. The proposed addition is spatially shaped according to key views of the landscape. External pressures of the landscape penetrate the building and thread the disparate site views together, and the building to the site. As one moves through the house, reflected and refracted views are absorbed and released, giving way to actual views of the landscape. The addition acts as an armature to enhance this phenomenon via direct, reflected and refracted views of the landscape which are absorbed and telegraphed as the circulatory path through the building.

East Troy, Wisconsin

2,200sf new construction

A “do the least harm” approach to this project was adopted, seeking to respect the natural features of the site as well as the adjacent neighbors. At grade level, the project will ‘terrace’ down the steeply sloped site and include a series of ‘held gardens,’ in an attempt to develop an integrated relationship with the landscape. At the elevated

level of habitable spaces, the house opens through a series of coordinated slot-views to the lake beyond, much in the same way the surrounding, mature trees offer filtered views through their canopies. The new residence will be a “green” home, featuringminimal site disruption through limited excavation, a modest footprint on one levelof approximately. 2,200 square-feet, sustainable planning including house functions timed to passing day to maximize natural light and reclaimed, renewable, and nontoxic materials used throughout the home.

Milwaukee, WI

20 apartment units, 45,000 sf

Sage on Jackson updates and refines the east-side Milwaukee center entrance multi-family apartment building.  This project was recently awarded the first LEED Platinum level certification as the only such multi-family residential apartment building in the state of Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, WI

72 apartment units

"The Divine light that could ll the world is hidden. It is the mission of the Jewish People to bring back that light and have it ll the world with incredible beauty."
While on a spiritual journey, one discovers many events along one’s path. Some events are personal,and some shared. Many events are readily apparent, while others slowly materialize. The Spertus Institute of Judacia is a vessel to be lled with such instances. Navigation through the secular world provides similar experiences. For example, the pedestrian encounters a number of physical and phenomenal events in the urban fabric over the passing day.

"I used to think being Jewish was like carrying around an old piece of baggage. Now I think of it like a prism. You hold it up to the light and it reects back wonderful things."

The spectrum of the Jewish culture is reected within the Institute’s interior volumes. As light passes through the building’s envelope, the Spertus Institute’s constituent elements are revealed by way of the building’s programmatic structure. The Institute’s elements are divided into two categories: event and threshold program. Light is admitted through secondary, threshold program and gathered into a series of prismatic voids. Inextricably woven together, apertures in these thresholds separate the Spertus Institute into its constituent elements revealing prismatic, program voids or event spaces.
This programmatic patterning is also apparent in the natural and built context of Chicago. For example, in neighboring Grant Park, natural ora act as thresholds dening event spaces which gather people and phenomena year-round. Similarly, light lls… From the street to the lake, from the earth to the sky, light lters across and through Chicago and its inhabitants.
The Creator is merciful in the way he introduces major changes. In the example of the transformation from day to night and night to day; he does not blind with a sudden strong light or frighten with one abrupt drop into darkness, but rather slowly, beautifully, makes the transition from one to the other.
Within the institute, event program ll with light; with Judacia. Light is gathered and released gradually, as event program absorbs physical and spiritual light over the course of the day. During daylight hours, natural light is gathered through ssures of varying sizes, shapes and locations.
Gradually, light begins to slowly seep from the building with the passing day. As night falls the Spertus institute, now lled with light, begins to share its essence with the community.

First Financial Center Lobby

Milwaukee, WI

2,000 sf, Renovation

The goal from the Owner’s perspective was to modernize the existing lobby in this renovation project, but also respect the architectural significance of the building in which the space is set. A desk by Paul McCobb (roughly of the building’s age) was used as a kind of precedent object to generate an aesthetic, materiality and spirit for the project: to be as if one is inside a furniture piece of the highest quality. The project’s beauty is in the details, execution and tectonic; the way one might look at a well built piece of vintage furniture, jewelry, etc. Materiality is refined and timeless, with an eye toward modernism and modernization. The material palette was simple and clean: teak, travertine, glass (of several types) and anodized aluminum. Varying translucencies and textures of glass were employed to simultaneously open and close the lobby space from view while still admitting natural light. ‘Profilit’ channel glass was used extensively toward this aim. In this way, the renovation respects the original aesthetic and spirit, while bringing the lobby into today.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

700sf Interior Renovation

Previously living in several 4000 square-foot residences, the clients desired to live with only what they needed. As such, a residence was designed with a high-level of specificity for the occupants, their things and their lifestyle. This small condominium renovation is a study in how materiality can expand space in a tight environment. Varying wall heights and relief, and contrasting materials like the hardness of teak versus the softness of the shear curtains, work to push and pull the envelope of this 750 square-foot space. This project is a composition of international pieces; crystal lighting and artifacts brought back from Prague and Asia, Italian cabinetry and laminated-glass doors, along with custom teak pieces throughout mix with a wonderful array of canvases from local artists. This owner’s space truly reflects their world.

The Malloy addition, located in the pacific palisades, was designed as a modern intervention on a small 1940's craftsman bungalow.  Rather than add onto the house and try to match the aged charm of the building, the addition is designed as clean modern structure that emerges out of the core of the bungalow.  

The connection of the addition to the bungalow is initiated with a skylight penetration in the existing roof.  This threshold of light marks the passage out of the old and up into the new master suite of the addition. The master bedroom, closet and master bathroom spiral clockwise as views of the site and sky follow the path through the space.  

The new covered area below forms an outdoor living room, which enclosed seasonally, allows for year round outdoor living

CURRENTLY IN DESIGN

CURRENTLY IN DESIGN

MUSKEGO HOUSE

Schematic Design

Pacific Palisades Courtyard Residence

This 4,500-square-foot custom home in Pacific Palisades is currently under construction on an expanded double corner lot overlooking the coastal hillside landscape. After losing their previous residence in the Palisades fire, the owners were able to acquire the adjacent property, creating a rare opportunity to design a larger custom residence that takes full advantage of the site and surrounding views.

The new home is organized as a modern courtyard house that responds to the gently sloping terrain. The garage is set into the lower side of the property, allowing the main level of the house to extend across the site in a continuous U-shaped plan. This layout contains the primary living spaces and guest bedrooms while framing a private landscaped courtyard at the center of the home.

A smaller upper-level primary suite rises above the main roofline, providing privacy and capturing distant hillside views. Extensive floor-to-ceiling glazing connects the interior spaces visually and physically to the courtyard and garden, creating a light-filled indoor–outdoor living environment characteristic of contemporary Southern California residential architecture.

Currently under construction, the project reflects a thoughtful approach to modern custom home design in Pacific Palisades, combining privacy, landscape integration, and expansive glazing to create a resilient and enduring family residence.