Minnesota architects
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Does anyone have any high performance architects located in Minnesota, around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that they can recommend? I’ve searched GBA and found a few mentions, but ideally it would be great to get some referrals from folks here who’ve worked with them.
I’m not planning on building a net-zero or Passiv certified house, just a well built high performance house.
Any recommendations would be great, thanks in advance.
-Andrew
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Replies
Andrew. No recommendation. But we refer to your target home as a "pretty good house." Search the site and you'll find lots of information on that topic.
Andrew,
I am building a house with a similar efficiency goal near Minneapolis. I had architect friends help me with the floor plan and relied on my own research for the energy efficient portion of design.
I did consult an architect in Madison WI that I would highly recommend. Christi Webber from the Design Coalition. This is a link to a Power Point presentation about a house in South Eastern MN that Christi designed. I think it's a great read.
http://www.designcoalition.org/projects/Root%20River/Root%20River.htm
I have learned a lot and would be happy to share with you if you would provide contact information. Mostly things I should have done differently but also some online tools and resources.
Jim,
I've never seen a house built on foam without a slab like that one. I'm still trying to get my head around all the implications of building that way.
Andrew,
A residential designer who has written for GBA and Fine Homebuilding -- one with an excellent grounding in energy issues -- is Rachel Wagner. Here is her contact information:
Rachel Wagner
Wagner Zaun Architecture
17 North Lake Avenue
Duluth, MN 55802
218-733-0690
http://www.wagnerzaun.com
[email protected]
I second the recommendation for Rachel Wagner, she is in the loop on energy efficiency, a great gal too.
Thanks to Martin and Doug for the recommendation! Andrew, I'd be happy to talk with you about your goals and ideas. If you're reading GBA, it is likely that your definitions of "well built and high performance" align with the kind of work my firm does. Martin provided my email and phone above. I hope to hear from you.