North Oaks Residence

Choosing an architect was easy for husband and wife biomedical engineers reassigned to the Twin Cities. Gar Hargens had designed two seamless additions to the husband’s Close designed parents’ home. On a wooded lot, the couple wanted a house based on symmetry with simple, clean, crisp lines. To meet these criteria, we nestled a three story, metal-clad house into the hillside, using commercial glazing to bring the spectacular scenery inside. It's one of our larger homes and also one of the most sustainable. We used LEED principles throughout without spending for LEED certification. The flat green roof is covered with Hydrotech, a product of recycled car tires. Other features include geothermal heating and cooling, spray-on insulation, rolling exterior shutters, and sun-shielding roof overhangs. Our energy tester gave the house high marks and said it would certainly qualify for LEED and Energy Star.