Architect Charles Cook's Homes Look Just as Good From the Sky as the Ground

This lakefront home was designed by architect Charles Cook, who uses drone photography to see the finished product.

When buying or building a home on a significant site, owners want to visualize the relationship of the structure to its surroundings. Increasingly, architects and real estate agents rely on drone photography to convey the magnificence of luxury properties. According to architect Charles Cook, whose Chicago firm specializes in designing waterfront estates including this beautiful Wilmette home, “the benefit of drone shots is that they give you a full appreciation of the breadth of a property.” Cook uses shots from his son Kyle Cook’s aerial drone photography business in the design process to depict views from higher floors and inspect construction work. But the thrill is in seeing the finished product. This dramatic shot allows viewers to admire crowning details like the roofline, cupola and chimneys, as well as how the home opens out to the yard and cascades to the beach, encompassing five different outdoor entertaining areas. “The elevated perspective ties the architecture and landscape together,” Charles Cook says, “and the dramatic photos and video provide an exciting experiential viewpoint of what the home is like.”