2020 Home of the Month Look Book

North Minneapolis Infill
PHOTOS BY ARCHITECT
Project type: New Construction
Looking for a lot on which to build a new home near
her job in Northeast Minneapolis, the client found an
empty parcel abutting a small pond in North Minneapolis.
The flat lot with a view overlooking the prairie-buffered
storm water pond provided a great opportunity
to build a compact, high-performing home on a budget.
With the help of her father acting as the general contractor,
our client chose to build a slab-on-grade home with energy-efficient
structurally insulated panels (SIPs) to frame
the walls.
Clad in cypress and corrugated metal, the home
brings a modern design and progressive construction
type to an established neighborhood seeing
new investments in affordable single-family homes.
The views of the pond from the alley side of the lot
drove a strategy to split the attached two-car garage
into two single stall garages, creating a private courtyard
space that serves as a focus and extension of the
living space. One garage serves as the owner’s while
the other can flex as a tenant garage or owner’s studio.
A central two-story living space looks out over the courtyard
and pond beyond. The upper level owner’s suite and potential
tenant suite are separated
and defined by the overlook to
the living area below.
Christian Dean Architecture
www.deanarch.com • (612) 886-2814
Design team: Christian Dean, AIA; Jessica Harner, AIA; Julian Menne
43