We have begun work on a passive solar greenhouse at Gale Woods Farm developed by Three Rivers Park District. Gale Woods Farm is a real working farm where visitors can gain an understanding of agriculture, food production and land stewardship. Currently many of the farm’s plants are germinated in a greenhouse that is too small and not very energy efficient. A new, larger, more efficient, greenhouse is needed.The farm would like the greenhouse to have longer periods of use and help educate the public about sustainable practices. This project appeared to fit perfectly into our mission of sustainable design and educating people about it. This will be the vehicle of our journey from the beginning stages of writing an RFP to the time we’re ready to cut the ribbon on opening day.

Let’s begin where it all started and discuss the RFP. What is an RFP? A Request For Proposal (RFP) is a formal solicitation for a proposal from architects to provide professional services for a building project. A contractor we know, who was working with the farm, gave us a call and explained the project and how we would be a perfect fit. Passive solar techniques, thermal mass storage using earth berms and water barrels; yes, I do believe that is right up our alley! Three Rivers Park District issued an RFP, we put together a written proposal and within a week we were at the project kick-off meeting with John Barbour leading the design team.

This is not our first time around the block designing sustainable buildings. We have considerable experience designing sustainable buildings including 5ive, the first new home in Minnesota to receive LEED-H Platinum certification and a home in the Kenwood area of Minneapolis that is the first LEED-H certified restoration in Minneapolis. We also designed the Science House and Science Park at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Science house was designed as a Net-Zero building, meaning that it uses less energy on an annual basis than it creates. It also is designed to educate the public about sustainable design practices. John Barbour also has considerable experience with greenhouse design. John lead the team that restored the huge growing house complex at Como Park in Saint Paul, which is used to grow all of the plants used at Como and throughout the city.

And so it begins….this week we are gathering information about the site and the preliminary design information used by the client to obtain a grant that will help pay for the project. We are doing additional research into passive solar design, techniques and testing data. We will use that information to design the optimum form and materials for the building as well as to establish the most efficient mechanical and electrical systems used to manage the building controls: passive ventilation, shading and heat retention curtains, ventilation fans, and thermal mass storage.

I am being interviewed this week about interior design trends so I have been giving this subject a great deal of thought. I don’t generally encourage my clients to follow every trend and it would be impossible to do so, but rather focus on what they love. However trends do play an important role in what is available for purchasing and inspiring ideas about design. So on that note, these are the top trends that really excite me.

Go for Bold! A neutral or monochromatic palette is the starting point to pulling off a bold color statement. Start with a variation of the same color ivory, light blue, white, gray. This color should be reflected in the floor, walls, ceiling and furnishings and then add a bold color. For example, with a light blue monochromatic palette add a big bold bright green or the super trendy yellow gold as a major piece of furniture. For a bold approach consider painting the ceiling. Use this color for accent pillows, artwork and accessories. The way to pull it off is to be very purposeful in your use of the accent color.

Large patterns and over scaled objects are a great statement in many locations of the home. Case goods are getting “tattooed” with bold graphic patterns, like this piece from Martha Stewart!

Walls – yes, wallpaper is back and there are many gorgeous selections are available.  My favorites are the big graphic prints. Check out www.flavorpaper.com for some great ideas.

Speaking of wallpaper and trends, grasscloth, nubby fabrics and textured carpets in beautiful neutral colors are good choices right now. To “glam” up these earthy selections, chose a grasscloth that has a metallic background for a hint of glitz.

There are wonderful selections from Innovations

www.innovationsusa.com

Metals are always a great way to accent a room and we have seen chromes and silvers to be the most popular some time now, but brushed gold and soft bronzes seem to be making their way into lighting, furniture and mirrors. Check out some great furnishings at www.jonathanadler.com

We thought it would be worth re-posting. Most of it still holds up but our views have evolved on some of the points. Give it a read and let us know how you think the “green movement” has changed in the last 4-5 years. Enjoy!

Recycle Your House (circa 2007)

The world seems to be quickly filling up with eco-friendly, green, environmental, sustainable stuff and the focus seems to keep shifting toward new. The home building industry is certainly no exception. There are currently 6 different ways to rate the eco-friendliness of a new home. There are none for remodeling.

What ever happened to reduce, reuse, recycle? What could be better than recycling your entire house? If we all start leaving the city to head for the ‘burbs, we’ll most likely use more energy, more materials, and more land for our homes. We may even find ourselves commuting more. All in all, a sensible remodel of your existing home could decrease your ecological footprint while a new home in the ‘burbs, even a “green” built home, could add to it. So here are some good old fashion, honest ways of remodeling your home that will make your life better, save you money, and help save the world.

Search Deep Within! Often times, our older homes feel small, but they really aren’t. They were just designed for families in the 30’s and 40’s and don’t work for the way our families are today. The stairs are awkward. There’s no place for the TV. The kitchen is closed off from the rest of the house. The bedrooms are too small. There aren’t enough bathrooms. While your instinct may be to add on, the greenest thing you can do is work inside. Consider moving some walls, or all the walls, and start getting creative with room and furniture layouts. Consider lumping utilities together and opening up large living spaces. You’d be surprised how much space you don’t even know you have.

Be A Surgeon! Every old house has pressure points and the tiniest little cuts can make a huge difference. Just like surgery, though, the real key is careful planning. Imagine saying to your doctor, “My leg’s not working. Cut it off and give me a new one.” Your doctor hopefully has the sense to say something like, “Well, we could do that, but let’s run some tests first.” If you plan first, you can save time, money, and the environment all in one act. Plan ahead and make small moves with big impact.

Choose Wisely! Beware the not-so-green bandwagon of products marketed as a worthwhile investment for the environment when all they’re really saying is, “We’re going to charge you more for our stuff because we designed a logo that looks like grass and leaves.” Also, beware the high tech stuff. Geothermal has been flung all over the place as renewable energy, but the heat pump sucks electricity like Dr. Doom. Photovoltaic energy is practically the poster child for environmentalism, but it’s made from sheets of silica. Ever seen a silica mine? The moral is, stick to the basics. Buy local materials. Use local artisans. Find cool fixtures at antique shops. Go to an architectural salvage yard and get some cool old stuff.

Grab the Low Hanging Fruit! Do all the easy stuff. Get better windows, improve your insulation, and seal up all the little cracks between walls and windows. Inside, get an efficient heating and cooling system that’s correctly sized. Buy LED light bulbs. Select curtains that insulate. Buy appliances that exceed Energy Star standards. Choose durable, low maintenance finishes.

Put Your Money Where America’s Gaping Vortex of A Mouth Is! If you must spend more money on emerging technologies, invest to reduce fossil fuel usage. Yes, I know saving trees and conserving water are important, but focusing on them is kind of like telling a drug addict to go on a diet. Here are a few things to start. We suck down oil four times faster than any other country. In the last few years, you could argue that our oil consumption has become the biggest problem on earth. Consider solar thermal to heat your water and your house. Look in to small scale wind energy. If zoning doesn’t allow it, call your congressperson. If you must, hop on eBay and get some used PV panels.

Learn a Lesson from Wine and Cheese! Design spaces that help you improve with age. Make sure doorways are wide enough to get a wheelchair through – an opening of 32” – 34” is sufficient. Design a bathroom that allows for seated bathing and put blocking in the walls now for grab bars that could be added in the future. Consider creating a bedroom on the main level with an age friendly bathroom close by. Create a lighting scheme which includes under cabinet task lighting to lessen eyestrain. Use lever handles instead of knobs for faucets and doors. It’s easier for all ages.

Go Play Outside! Plan some space for a tomato garden. Tomatoes can reduce global warming. Plant stuff that you don’t need to mow like prairie grass or buffalo grass or sunflowers. Plan a place to compost leaves and leftover vegetables.

The moral is, design twice, build once. Plan a simple, clean and healthy home and your life will be simpler cleaner and healthier. It’s better for you, better for the environment, and better for your pocket book. Thank you, William Ockham.

How does LEED define a green home?

LEED recommends that a home’s site, material usage, indoor air quality, energy usage, and water usage all be considered in order to provide a home that is healthy, comfortable, durable, energy efficient and environmentally responsible. Essentially LEED is a system that assigns points to various sustainable strategies.

These two designs used a common checklist based on the broad LEED definition of a green home.

Site | Materials | Energy | Air Quality | Conservation | Transportation | Alternative Energy

Site 

The first thing to consider is location, location, location. Is it an existing home or a new home on an infill lot? Is it in a new high-density community? Does the site have good access to services, utilities and public transportation? These location issues are given points by LEED-H.

Always design with care. Look for existing natural features to be retained and designed with or around – such as trees, grades and water. Manage and prevent soil erosion during construction and long-term. Find ways for the home and/or trees be located so the home is shaded in summer. Manage surface water runoff by designing the slopes, rainwater garden, green roof, pervious paving. Keep rain water and even gray water captured and used on site.

Materials

Working with  an existing home, look for existing materials to salvage and re-used. Minimize waste during construction. Utilize advanced framing techniques: optimize wall design with smaller studs, larger stud spacing, continuous insulation, drainage layer under exterior finish, etc. Is wood always the best construction material? Research and use appropriate alternative materials: cement board siding, composite trim for interior and exterior, consider concrete walls. Always be on the hunt for recycled products or products made from recycled materials. Don’t forget about the scrap materials. Find suppliers who use finger-jointed trim (made from small pieces). Check for materials with third party oversight such as FSC or canadian Wood Council certified wood products.

Energy

You often hear the question, “How much insulation should I put in my house?” The answer is surprisingly simple, “More.” In a cold climate like the Midwest you should put as much of the best suited insulation as you can into your basement floor, walls and roof. It is that simple. We really like spray foam insulation to eliminate air movement through wall. Another effective approach is continuous rigid insulation over studs to reduce thermal transfer. Seal up penetrations at walls and ceilings to eliminate air infiltration.

Some of the givens should be use of ultra-high efficiency heating and cooling systems, laying out an efficient plumbing system – minimize lengths of runs, stack bathrooms, etc.

With the huge improvements in light quality and affordability why would you not use LED and CFL lighting fixtures?

Air

One of the essential elements to our health and quality of life is the air we breath. Keep it clean. Utilize low or no-VOC finishes, materials and avoid PVC and plastics with hazardous additives. Filter outside air as well as return air. Use heat exchangers on outdoor air supply. Design exhaust air systems to balance with available outdoor air supply. Make sure it’s clean with active radon remediation and CO detection. Another area that most people don’t consider to be associated with air quality is the stuff you track in on your feet. Provide walk-off and/or shoe storage areas at entries.

Water

Look for ways to use less. Use low-flow fixtures and toilets; use double-flush toilets. Consider automatic faucets. Consider a manifold plumbing system and/or hot-water recirculation pumps – to minimize water usage waiting for hot water at fixtures.

Transportation

Use materials and products from as nearby as possible.

Alternative Energy

Solar – PV | Solar – hot water | Wind | Geo-thermal

The 5ive home was designed to accept a future PV solar energy system, when it becomes affordable.

Science House at the Science Museum, designed by the principals at Shelter, however utilizes both PV solar and geo-thermal systems and produces 30% more energy on an annual basis than it uses!

Buildings in the U.S. today account for significant amounts of total water use, emissions, waste output, and electric consumption – see charts below.

Everything we do as designers to reduce water use, emissions, waste output and electric consumption adds up and makes an impact.

The master bedroom is located on the second floor with two adjacent bedrooms. These extra bedrooms were selected to become a dressing room and office to create a wonderful suite in this Victorian home. The dressing room was divided into his and hers sections with creamy white-painted custom wood cabinets denoting her area and dark-stained custom cabinets for his. Carrera marble countertops tie the sections together. The original wood floors were restored and the woodwork was painted to match the cream cabinets. Vintage light fixtures were found and restored to further capture that glamorous feeling.



As collectors of vintage clothing and accessories, storage was designed to organize and showcase their wardrobe as works of art. Drawers with separate compartments for bangles, earrings, and other jewelry were custom made to ensure that every piece had its own special place.



The most dramatic part of this project can’t be found… unless you know where to look. The original master bedroom housed a very small walk-in closet, which was to become the Secret Room. This room houses lingerie, bedroom shoes, and the proper accessories for a wonderful night in. Silk upholstered walls, along with the same creamy white woodwork and marble tops as the dressing room, and sassy leopard-print carpet adds to the vampy attitude of this room. A vaseline mirror strategically placed in the Secret Room provides the right amount of masking for self-esteem to be high on any special evening. This room has a secret access from the dressing room by way of a large, ornate, antique-silver mirror. Pivot hardware and specially detailed base trim allows the concealed door to swing open to reveal the Secret Room beyond the mirror.

Key Design Principles for Play

SHELTER: Live Better

bio:
Jackie Millea
President & Founding Partner, Shelter Architecture
Jackie Millea earned her master of architecture from the University of Minnesota after 15+ years of interior design practice. Now with more years of experience than she cares to mention, Jackie is pursuing a greater understanding of how design is connected to wellness and our overall health and relationships. After attending many conferences and seminars regarding design for all abilities and ages, Jackie attended the New Aging Conference at the University of Pennsylvania last fall. This was a uniquely strategic conference, complemented by hands-on workshops, matchmaking sessions, and open houses at collaborating institutions. Guests within and outside of the design profession provided the professional and visionary background of the conference, leading to a manifesto on “New Aging” in architecture. Jackie hopes to be one of the leaders in how we house our aging population in the future.

Shelter maintained the original cottage front and footprint of the home and salvaged the original brick-clad foundation in the back, while transforming the addition into a modern gallery for its new owners’ large art and photography collection. Shelter worked to celebrate the historic details of the old house without limiting the modern goals of the client. By abstracting the pattern of original brick, the firm was able to create a graphically-rich skin that allows for flexible window placement, frames unique views of the surrounding urban landscape, and provides wall space for art.

The newly renovated kitchen, TV room, bathroom, master suite, and photo studio provide for artistic display within bright white spaces. The interior wall space features a permanent, flexible museum-quality display system embedded in the aluminum crown molding. Inside sliding doors are printed with modern art, LED lighting activates the spaces, and a beautiful polycarbonate clerestory creates perfect gallery-style daylighting in what was once a dark and dilapidated cottage. With this addition, Shelter pays respect to the original architecture, while creating a new playful modernist home.

Links:

WCCO Broadcast

Star Tribune Article

Midwest Floating Island

ASLA-MN

Organization with Modern Methods

Modern Methods: For Your Modern Miscellany (…)

bio:
Sarah Salo-Hughes
Founder & Owner, Modern Methods
Biologically programmed to maintain order amidst all objects within view (honestly, she just can’t help it), Sarah is often caught mindlessly aligning book spines or tweaking a chair’s angle. Compulsive, maybe, but never a criticism. Simply, she has the ability to gently, yet shrewdly assess and amend the purpose and placement of objects, spaces, circulation and habitation. Whether for a home or business, she can deduce effective and efficient solutions for organizational problems at a myriad of scales. “Organization” is an industry of goods and services, but a truly organized initiative requires personal maintenance and effort. That is why Sarah’s goal is to not just suggest products and purging, but to determine practical organizational goals for, and the most feasible means to preserve them.