Traditional materials of brick, concrete, limestone, steel, and zinc are used to form a non-traditional house on a typical lot on the north side of Chicago. The house further resists city conventions by uniting the front yard with the back with visual transparency, where sheets of glass more than ten feet high and fourteen feet wide terminate an open plan of sixty-three feet in length on the first floor. A three-story volume of millwork separates the floors from the vertical circulation of the stairway and contains storage and equipment, neatly separating functional performance from open space.

An island of stainless steel for kitchen use and dining is the only object built within the open space of the first floor. This area overlooks a courtyard, as well as the green roof of the garage.

The ground floor houses the guest room and family room, which is also framed by a large sheet of glass that brings the outdoor courtyard visually into the interior, and floods this area with ambient natural light. An outdoor stairway from the kitchen to the courtyard is wrapped with perforated zinc panels that shade southern light into the courtyard. Private rooms for the family of four are located on the third floor.