Leach Residence

Urbana, Illinois

The Leach Residence is a 1700 SF single floor residence located on a remaining fragment of the original 6000 acre “Big Grove” that once sprinkled the prairie landscape of Champaign County. The current site is surrounded by uneven development that includes multi-story apartment to the south, small neighborhood houses to the north, new moderate income development to the east, and the original homestead to the west.

The form of the house invokes vernacular building forms, which are then combined with contemporary exterior materials of dark-finished metal and vertical black locust siding. The simple plan features open spaces with carefully placed windows to maximize the landscape experience while also maintaining privacy from adjacent developments. A clerestory spine traverses the full interior in a north-south direction, tracking the sun throughout the day. This volume unites the other shared spaces of the design, creating a gestalt perception of the object from both the interior and the exterior