Features

The Eustis Residence

 

Auto court creates
shared focus for
three families of
friends

Panel/Batten
elements allowed
for client styles
in a united whole

Screen porches
provide “front yard”
viewing of street
and nearby park

In 2003, three families which had been friends for many years approached Close Associates to design a compound where they could live together in individual townhomes. They had found an interesting site along a major highway on a north-facing hillside. The first challenge was creating a site plan which gave each unit a view of the nearby park and a sense of privacy while maintaining a feeling of community. The townhomes are built in a stepped design around a central auto court. This provides a central “commons” yet allows for three architectural styles, which range from Tudor to Japanese contemporary, and are tied together by common roof and trim elements. Each unit has a screened porch and a view of the Minneapolis skyline. The townhome design allowed for efficiencies that kept the project on budget.