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Heading Home Photo by Karen Melvin and Michael Hendrickson
Trend: The Accessibility of Architecture
Two months in the prefabrication process and $57,000 later, a team of four produced what is now known as the weeHouse. It arrived on-site in Pepin, Wisconsin, complete with interior furnishings. The constraints of the homeowners’ budget led Scott Ervin and his team at Alchemy Architects to reevaluate the accessibility of architecture, resulting in the weeHouse prefabrication (module) system that has inspired a new platform of design that can be used for both residential and commercial projects. The modules have been designed with roadway limitations in mind—fourteen feet wide and ten feet high—so weeHouse modules can be transported anywhere and combined and customized according to both the dictates of the landscape and the needs of the owners. The Arado weeHouse (shown) recently won an Honors Award, presented by AIA Minnesota, A Society of the American Institute of Architects. Alchemy Architects, St. Paul, 651-647-6650 The Flatpak House
Lazor’s FlatPak house (shown here) is essentially a combination of glass, concrete, metal, and wood panels and reflects the strong national resurgence of simplicity and efficiency in architecture. The main difference between the FlatPak house and the weeHouse is in delivery. The latter arrives complete, module by module, at the site, while the FlatPak, aiming to maximize flexibility in design, is assembled on-site. Lazor and his contemporaries are merging good design and good business ideas, keeping costs comparatively low because in both cases most of the work is done in factories. Lazor’s firm is currently working on several new projects, including homes in New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, West Virginia, and California, that, like most other modernist homes, are defined by an open floor plan, simplicity in form, and lack of senseless and expensive ornamentation. Lazor Office, Mpls., 612-788-5355 Wood
Remodels
Glass
Additions
“Additions create an opportunity to insert something new,” says Christian Dean of CityDeskStudio and owner of the 1922 Linden Hills home. His winning approach plays off the original cedar shake siding and includes tiny square windows (the width of a shake), creating views that “fragment the urban landscape,” says Dean. Dean points out that the housing stock in our first and second rings is calling for revitalization. “There aren’t preconceived solutions,” Dean says. “We need to look for the opportunities—work with the house—and be open to an interpretation of it.” Dean’s fresh approach is unexpected, respectful of the original home, and, (as residents of compact urban neighborhoods can appreciate), his neighbors like it. CityDeskStudio, Mpls., 612-872-2398 Retreats
Duluth-based architect David Salmela has made a name for himself by masterfully blending modernist and traditional forms to create many projects in these desirable rural, rustic, or northwoods settings. “Pragmatic modernism with a sustainable emphasis seems to be the trend of my clients,” says Salmela. Whether it’s small saunas or small communities, as is the case with nationally acclaimed Jackson Meadow, Salmela has been recognized as one of America’s leading regionalist architects. salmelaarchitect.com. Shown here: Salmela’s The Streeter House. Garages
The Simple Home
Nettleton’s objective in writing the book was not to advocate a certain architectural or design aesthetic. “We have preconceptions about simple,” she says, “but simple is really an attitude. We don’t need to buy something to make our lives simpler. Simple is more about what you don’t build.” Nettleton offers six pathways to a simple home, ranging from sustainability and timelessness to flexibility in design. No matter what the homeowner’s preferred aesthetic or a home’s architectural style, all it takes to have a simple home, she says, is to ask yourself, “What is enough?” sarah-architects.com Sustainability
Euro Kitchens
The sophisticated look first started showing up in downtown lofts, but has caught on in new home construction as well as within older homes whose owners hope to juxtapose the contemporary with the classic to reflect today’s lifestyle. Crafted from wood, stainless steel, glass, even brilliant-colored panels, the collections provide seemingly endless possibilities. Poggenpohl, 952-927-4444. Poliform, 612-333-0053. Shown here: Valcucine, 612-341-4588. All at IMS, Mpls. Luxe Bathrooms
For inspiration and the latest fixtures and bath products visit the Fantasia and Waterworks show rooms (612-338-5811; 612-338-9991) both at International Market Square. Partners 4 Design (952-927-4444), also located at IMS, is best known for its architecture and design services, but also offers a selection of European–styled cabinetry and fixtures, as well as Seura televisions that are mounted within a mirror. If European styling is your vision, Montaggio (Mpls., 612-333-6264) offers a distinctive selection of faucets, sinks, and fixtures from Germany-based Bulthaup, Dornbracht, and Duravit. With more than eighty-five lines, including Kohler, the largest variety and selection of bathroom fixtures is arguably at Pipeline Supply (Hopkins, 952-988-5550), where you can see one of those ceiling-mounted tub fillers in action. Shown here: a Lake Minnetonka residence created by SKD Architects, Paragon Building and Remodeling, and Ramsey Engler LTD.
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MSP Communications, 220 South 6th Street, Suite 500, Minneapolis, MN, 55402 © 2008 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved |
In 2002, a concert violinist with a then-one-year-old child requested a retreat that valued poetry over commodity. The home, which would perch on a thin band of greenery between sections of a Wisconsin cornfield, was to mimic its surroundings while staying true to a modern aesthetic. The hoped-for budget was $50,000.
In the first half of the twentieth century, Sears had great success with kit homes that were ordered through its catalog and arrived on-site boxed and ready for assembly with a seventy-five-page manual. But until a few years ago, there was no visually attractive contemporary version of such homes. That is until Charlie Lazor, one of the founders of Blu Dot, decided to develop a prototype and build one for himself near Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. 
Homeowners are once again craving the warmth of wood. The in vogue organic element instantly adds life and texture and is being incorporated in both traditional and contemporary ways—not only through decorative objects and furniture, but in the design and building process as well. Dark ebony adds depth to floors. Wood paneling surrounds entryways, studies, and nooks to create cozier spaces. A wood island becomes a centerpiece within a streamlined white kitchen. From exotic striped woods to classic birch, maple, or oak, wood brings a touch of nature to our homes. Hans Wegner chair from 
Two important lifestyle trends—the proliferation of urban lofts and condos and the desire to live closer to the city—have created a market for the once less-desired 1950s- and ’60s-era ranches and ramblers in first-tier suburbs. Clean lines, lack of architectural ornamentation, and floor plans that can be easily opened up for even more free-flowing space make many of these homes ripe for redux. Homeowners who want the modern look of urban living (and shorter commute times) are finding that the ramblers of Edina, Golden Valley, Roseville, and other suburbs provide the perfect shell and are giving them a new lease on life by either gutting them completely or strategically retooling them. The key is to respect the integrity of the original home while making it work for today’s families, exemplified by this Lake Minnetonka remodel spearheaded by Scott Newland, AIA. 
Glass is all about luminosity. But until recently it has been limited to windows, doors, and cabinets. Now this Cinderella story (it starts as sand) is showing up on backsplashes, bathroom tile, sliding room dividers, countertops, even on the newest line of Floating Glass appliances by Jenn-Air. These new glass products bring more depth to their surfaces while at the same time providing a mirrored effect and radiating light. Tiles from 
It’s no shock that many architects live in homes that they have in one way or another designed. When we saw the results of the recent AIA Minnesota Honor Awards, we were taken by this south Minneapolis house extension.
Though greater numbers of Twin Citians are moving closer to the city, the draw of nature still attracts many. Whether it’s a new form of the iconic farmhouse perfectly placed within a meadow or a modernist retreat nestled within the woods, open space provides an opportunity to interpret the land and define your own architecture—find your voice. 
The garage has become an extension of the home and our newest frontier. After the kitchen, bathrooms, closets, craft room, and laundry room are complete, it’s the next blank canvas—prime real estate waiting to be developed. Epoxy floors. Heaters. Refrigerators. Custom cabinets. Audio-visual systems. In new construction, space is being allocated for all of the above as well as a car, or two, or three—not to mention the sports gear that supports our active lifestyles. And, of course, somewhere comfortable to sit (between biking and kayaking) to bask within this newfound clubhouse. Shown here: The Streeter House garage.
What is a simple home? According to architect Sarah Nettleton, it’s a home that is beautiful and practical, efficient and uncomplicated. It’s a simple floor plan, plenty of natural light and fresh air, and sustainability. On February 27, 
When it comes to building homes today, you can’t avoid the words green and sustainable. But what do they really mean? In many respects the words are interchangeable. According to Sarah Nettleton’s book The Simple Home, “Sustainability is about finding the right balance between needs and resources for the long term. To ensure this balance for our children and our children’s children, we have choices about how much we use today. Sustainability isn’t only about yurts, composting toilets, and green gizmos. And it’s not just a dreary necessity. Sustainable living and design is an opportunity to be in tune with the simple pleasures of nature. More than basic energy efficiency, simple is a green aesthetic that provides the most basic pleasures of life—simple sounds, daylight, and fresh air.”
Local show rooms such as Valcucine, Poggenpohl, and Poliform have put European cabinet systems in the spotlight. The supersleek, über efficient units provide a modular style of space planning that incorporates all of the modern luxuries and conveniences wanted in today’s kitchens while keeping the space streamlined and clutter-free. 
There is no slowing the luxury bath trend. The ever-expanding lines of products include steam rooms, multihead showers, and ceiling-mounted bathtub fillers as well as discrete TVs and laundry facilities. The innovations in bathroom accouterments offer the ultimate in luxury.
© 2008 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved