Founded by David Brininstool and Brad Lynch in 1989, Brininstool + Lynch is the recipient of over 50 major design awards, including AIA Chicago Firm of the Year, 29 AIA Design Excellence Awards, and four American Architecture Awards. This house, one of the firm’s breakthrough projects, is an intriguing exercise in creating privacy within an urban neighborhood while providing an abundance of open, bright space. The major move was to screen part of the exterior behind custom copper panels cut out with a unique, blocky, mid-mod pattern. “In the city, everybody has their blinds or drapes drawn,” Lynch notes. “In this house the light goes straight through—you get a sense of sky, but the perforated composition allows that without ever having to pull the shades for privacy.” The detail continues inside: To absorb sound, some millwork ceilings are perforated with random squares in a pattern derived from the exterior latticework. Housing the communal areas, the ground floor is open and animated. The living room even sports a large laylight of patterned acrylic that
Brininstool + Lynch WOOD HOUSE, CHICAGO
46 INTERIOR DESIGN
filters dappled sun from the skylight above. The second floor is quiet and subdued, necessarily so since it’s where the family bedrooms are located. Accessed by a tucked-away wood stair, the third floor includes a private study and a guest suite, each with its own deck and green roof.