Landmarks  ·  Early 1990s

The Beached Freighter

Cass Lake · Ken Neumann

A vision of the future, on a former swamp

The curved glass wall of the Beached Freighter seen across the pond and stepping stones

In the early 1990s the owners of a lot on Cass Lake gave Ken Neumann something architects rarely get: sole authorship. He could design the entire house as he saw fit, with two requests. It must have curves, and it must be inspired by a vision of the future, with no historical references anywhere.

The site had been a swamp. Ken looked at the low land and the water beyond it and saw a beached freighter: a long hull run aground, its decks and bridge stepping up toward the lake. That image guided every decision that followed, outside and in, from the sweep of the walls to the fittings in the rooms.

Building it meant making curved work hold the same line as straight work, and finishing surfaces that had no precedent to borrow from. The owners lived in Ken’s art for years. The house was published internationally.

The house at dusk, its glass-block wall glowing from within
The two-story living room inside the curved glass wall
The garden at dusk: a fire pit among standing stones, with the glass-walled living room lit behind
The main living room: a raised black granite deck, a boat-shaped glass table, and the lake beyond
The glass-block wall and rooftop drums above the planted terraces
Cloud-pruned pines in front of the white brick and glass block
The piano on the upper landing against the curved glass-block wall
Seating on the curved granite deck, with the dining table beyond
Porthole and curved white brick wall lit at night
The entry court: porthole windows, a boulder, and the glass-block curve at dusk
The dining table, looking back to the living room and its oval skylight

Architecture by Ken Neumann.

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