Arden Hills Green Remodel

Project: Arden Hills Green Remodel
Designer: Cindy Ojczyk
Firm: Cindy Ojczyk Design, 651-206-4651

When it comes to remodeling green, there’s one thing Cindy Ojczyk wants you to know—sometimes it’s what you don’t build that makes your home more efficient and sustainable. “It’s not about purchasing all new ‘green’ products,” Ojczyk says, “but rather about implementing efficient strategies that utilize renewable resources already in place.”

Ojczyk introduced the idea of sustainable design to the owners of a 1960s Arden Hills rambler. The home underwent a complete remodel to maximize energy and resource efficiency, conserve water, and improve indoor environmental quality. The finished remodel is the second residential project in the state of Minnesota to follow the remodeling guidelines set by Wisconsin’s Green Built Home Initiative (The Builders Association of the Twin Cities, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, and the Pollution Control Agency are currently working on initiatives for Minnesota).

To play up the home’s good bones and improve indoor air quality, the carpets—which harbored dust mites, mold, and formaldehyde—were removed and the original hardwood floors were restored. In addition, millwork sourced from a sustainable forest was brought in for the trim work, and triple-pane windows were installed throughout the home. In the kitchen, Energy Star appliances, natural linoleum, formaldehyde-free cabinetry, and butcher block sourced from local maple trees were all added. Throughout the remodel, Ojczyk worked hand-in-hand with the contractors to assure items were installed in a sustainable matter that maximized airflow and decreased energy loss and environmental impact. “We viewed the home as a holistic system and looked beyond aesthetic beauty to its efficiency in function,” Ojczyk says.

It’s this consideration of the complete building life cycle and how it impacts the health of humans and the environment that makes this home sustainable. Through a remodel, the home was given an intrinsic economic value through increased resource efficiency and improved durability. The resulting home is at ecological and aesthetic harmony with its natural and man-made environments.

Above photograph, clockwise from lower left: 100 percent post-industrialized polyester Leo fabric in tangerine and Eva fabric in cranberry, both by Angela Adams for Architex. Available through Hirshfield’s, 721 2nd Ave. N., Mpls., 612-374-8901 . Marmoleum natural linoleum tiles in Bleeker Street and Tan Pink ($3.61/square foot); Loma natural clay paints in Dakota Red and Santa Fe Tan (prices vary), by American Clay; carbonized horizontal grain bamboo flooring ($4.59/square foot), by Bamboo Mountain; recycled glass tiles in Fire Engine Red and Pewter ($50/square foot). All available from Natural Built Home, 4020 Minnehaha Ave., Mpls., 612-605-7999