Shelter Architecture

Jan 2014

Beginning with our Reality Check service, we redesigned the first floor of this home to have more physical and visual connection from room to room. We removed soffits, upper cabinets, doorways and walls to connect these spaces. We found the perfect white for the walls and countertops to contrast with the ebony-stained birch casework. A commercial style window and door replaced an existing sliding door, allowing the kitchen to expand without losing natural light, and a cooktop and stacked ovens doubled its productive capacity. Densely grained wood flooring replaced tile throughout the first floor, creating seamless transitions from space to space. Apple green accents bring the outdoors in. The resulting space is a study in contrasts: the pattern of wood grain on the floor with the texture of glossy laminated plastic and brushed aluminum on the countertops; the lightness of the Minnesota stone mantlepiece with the dark paneling of its surround.

Golden Valley, MN

Jan 2013

This space conscious kitchen is the place where a State Fair blue ribbon winner practices, experiments and creates. The lightness of the space reflects her open, inquisitive approach with materials that feel good to the touch and well designed appliances and carefully considered places for everything to land. The space stays functional through all stages of cooking, from prep to cleanup nothing feels like a chore. The kitchen looks every bit as good as it feels, which is important because, when she cooks for crowds of family and friends, it becomes the stage for her performance.

Minneapolis, MN

Jan 2013

In 2008 the homeowners called on the design team to advise them about a house they were thinking of purchasing. It was a modest, midcentury modern home with a treelined pond for a back yard. Yet the original kitchen was a tiny galley with the refrigerator in a nearby room, and a second living room had been added to the main residence with no regard to the views. The homeowners were keen to remodel immediately, but we advised them to live in the house for a year to see how it worked for them. One year stretched into two and eventually into six. They now had two kids and were ready to remake the house into their ideal home. We first opened the wall that separated the addition and the main residence, creating a wall of windows facing the pond. We opened the kitchen to the rest of the of house. We moved the master bedroom from the front of the residence to the back, giving it a view to the pond. As the master bath was the only bathroom on the first level, we added a powder room for guests. Organization and storage was nonexistent for this growing family, so we built cubbies and cabinets into the mud room, kitchen, and office. Oak flooring was gray washed and the walls and ceiling pained a perfect white to showcase the homeowners extensive art collection. During demolition we discovered some major roof damage that had to be repaired and this required most of our original construction budget. OUCH! Did that stop our effort to see our design vision to the end? No. We dug our heels in and found resources that fit the diminished budget. The resulting home respects its mid-century roots, takes advantage of its spectacular views, and offers a sense of delight and wellbeing to this young family.

North Oaks, MN

Jan 2011

This project is in the first phase of a three-step plan, which will ultimately transform the entire home and landscape. In this first phase, the new kids room, full bathroom and kitchen remodel expand a simple home into a great house for a growing young family. The new walnut kitchen has all the elements of any high-end European modern kitchen; but with handmade tile and natural finishes, the design respects the original architecture. Each new element is designed to focus the house on the great views to Twin Lake and the wooded green space behind the house. The new design is integrated with sustainable improvements for energy efficiency: a high- efficiency boiler supplying hydronic heat; spray foam insulation; and double pane, low-e windows. The addition keeps the best of early modern design while adding new, sustainable technologies. The house is also filled with great examples of local and sustainable modern furniture. The interiors feature a tasteful assortment of thoughtfully chosen furnishings highlighting the open floor plan. The final design will extend living spaces into landscape, blurring the lines between inside and outside with integrated patios, interior and exterior lighting, and other details. The entire project is tied together by a cohesive plan that can be phased in over many years, ensuring that future work will always fit into an integrated whole.

St Louis Park, MN

Jan 2010

This addition is a modern gallery for its owners large art and photography collection. By abstracting the pattern of original brick, a graphically-rich skin was developed that allows for flexible window placement, frames unique views of the surrounding urban landscape, and provides wall space for art. The renovated kitchen, TV room, bathroom, master suite, and photo studio provide space for displaying artworks with a permanent, flexible museum quality hanging system embedded in the aluminum crown molding. Sliding doors are printed with art, LED lighting, and a beautiful polycarbonate clerestory creates gallery-style daylighting in the once dark cottage. This addition creates a new playful modernist home.

Minneapolis, MN

Jan 2008

When creating this home, the goal was to take this typical South Minneapolis him and add modern touches but still fit into the neighborhood. This home was to be a place for entertaining both small and large groups. The initial footprint of the house was a mere 950 square feet. It had small rooms, the kitchen was a hallway to the front of the house, and the upper level was only a 1/2 story. The 110 square foot addition allowed us to move a staircase tot he rear of the house, opening up the space for a large kitchen and dining area for entertaining. The roof over the 1/2 story was raised to create more comfortable living space on the second level and two flat roof dormers allowed space for a master bath and screen porch. Modern boxes were added to the front of the house to complement the rear improvement and give a modern edge to the facade, while preserving the form and scale of the original homes street presence.

Minneapolis, MN