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Past attendees to AIA Minnesota’s Homes by Architects Tour have come to expect a vast range of projects and styles when visiting tour homes. This tour is singular in its effort to showcase homes of many different sizes, project budgets, architectural styles, and environments, in order to demonstrate the multitude of ways an architect can help homeowners improve their homes and realize dreams. This year’s tour is no different. With 21 homes to see, visitors will be treated to projects of all shapes and sizes, designed for families and lifestyles from many backgrounds.
Green technology in residential design is as popular as ever with advances in technologies and new applications of existing products making it easier for architects to incorporate elements into homes. If green design peaks your interest, you won’t want to miss seeing three projects that each utilize different strategies to maximize on energy savings. Home #3, designed by Sarah Nettleton Architects, is characterized by light-filled rooms and floor-to-ceiling windows, yet a high-performance building envelope and adjustable shading contribute to a 53 percent reduction in energy use for the homeowners.
Visitors to the modern yet rustic retreat bordering Theodore Wirth Park (Home #10), designed by EJ Hansen, AIA, would never guess at first glance that the home is constructed using a concrete exterior wall system. Elegant interior finishes belie the home’s resilient infrastructure. When combined with a solar package, the homeowners can recover up to 70 percent of their energy consumption.
In St. Paul, Home #18 designed by Guy Williams Architect demonstrates the positive effects of a “live” rooftop terrace floor in recycling water and minimizing rain run-off. Don’t miss speaking with the architects of these projects during the tour, where you can ask questions about these green features and learn more about implementing them in your home projects.
Advance tickets may be purchased online or at AIA Minnesota beginning in August for $15 (until 2 p.m. on September 18). They will also be available at each home during tour weekend for $20 for a full ticket or $10 for an individual home.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit homesbyarchitects.org. Follow us on Facebook (HBA Tour) and Twitter (@aiamn #hbatour).
The 2015 Homes by Architects Tour is supported by Marvin Windows and Doors; Midwest Home; Streeter & Associates Kroiss Development; RLH Studio; Mattson MacDonald Young; Synergy Products; Warners’ Stellian; Braaten Creative Woods; Jodi Gillespie Interior Design; Fiddlehead Design Group; Otto Painting Design; TreHus Architects+Interior Designers+Builders; and American Mortgage & Equity Consultants.
Presented by AIA Minnesota
Photo by Paul Crosby
