Houses in Progress

Recently I took a drive around one particular neighborhood where I have a number of houses in various states of construction.  After quite a drought in the construction industry it sure is nice to see my work in progress.  I took some snapshots and thought I'd  pass them along.

Comfy Cottage
Construction by Main Street Builders

A Farmhouse Revisited
Construction by Owner

A Euro Style Redux
Construction by Norton Homes

Colorful Cape with a modern twist
Construction by Owner

Classic Greek Revival
Construction by Hendel Homes

A Modern Country Home
Construction by Main Street Builders

 

Dream Island Update

A few days ago I posted a story about the "Dream Island" Welcome Center project we are working on.  I just thought I would pass on an updated rendering of the preliminary design.  See below.

The glass angles outwards from bottom to top as it moves along it's curved path.  V-Columns support the floating roof.

New Welcome Center is a Dream

Ron Brenner Architects is collaborating with PDI Design Group to create a new welcome center at "Dream Island" outside of Baku, Azerbaijan, near the Caspian Sea.  "Dream Island" is the first golf resort development in Azerbaijan and will include an 18 hole Pete Dye signature golf course, 1200 residential dwellings and a commercial center with retail, entertainment, hotel and office space.

The welcome center includes a fine restaurant, sales and marketing offices, and serves as a temporary clubhouse with golf pro shop and locker rooms.  Below are a couple views of the preliminary design.

New Model Home Design

We have recently completed drawings for  for a new home to be built in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.  The home will serve as a model for Norton Homes in the Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove neighborhood.

birds eye view from front
side load vehicle entry and an integrated roof line diminishes the impact of a 3 car garage

street level view
the design carves out 4 second floor bedrooms beneath dramatic hip roof lines

New Community Building

We just completed bidding drawings for a new community center at the Stonemill Farms neighborhood in Woodbury, Minnesota.  The facility includes a meeting facility with outdoor overflow space, a teen activity room, splash pool and playground.  Check out the concept images below.

New Lake Home

Over the past several weeks we have been working on a new home design for a client of ours.  The property is on a somewhat challenging lot on Lake Minnetonka's Grays Bay.  See the video below for a sneak peek of the schematic design.

Red Barn House Model

One of my houses is currently showing during the Twin Cities Parade of Homes.  If you have the time check out model number 239 at 10138 Tapestry Bend in Lake Elmo.  

The design was truly a collaborative effort.  Mark Sova of Main Street Builders worked out a pretty smart initial floor plan, and I crafted the exterior imagery suggesting just a few plan revisions.  Mark worked with the home buyers to develop the interior decorative theme.  The result is a snappy modest home that I would characterize as an eclectic farmhouse.  Below are a few images.

New Community Building Design

We are in the early design stages of a new community building for the Stonemill Farms neighborhood in Woodbury, Minnesota. We worked with our client to develop a building program that will serve the community with a central gathering space, a fitness center, meeting rooms and a teen center.  Site development will include roof covered picnic areas, a playground and splash park.  Here is a sneak peek at two of our preliminary building design schemes.

Southern Comfort

A few weeks ago I received a call from a wonderful couple in Alabama.  Two years ago a tornado ripped through their property and destroyed their lake home. Since then they have been working to create a new home design.  They were pretty happy with the floor plans, but they just could not get comfortable with the building exterior.  They contacted me, and asked if I could help them with the exterior views.  I responded, "Absolutely!"

The original lake front elevation.  A good beginning but too tall for a  two story house (main level and lower level).  The elevation also needed a logical scheme for patterns, materials, etc...

The new lake front elevation.  I brought the roof line down and lowered the dormers to a more reasonable height.  Other changes included:  created a dramatic window pattern at the central gable, reconfigured the porches, developed new column and beam details and added a material / color palette appropriate for a lake cabin.

WOW!  was the response when I sent the sketches to them.  That's the greatest reaction I could possibly hope to receive.

The moral of this story is... don't hesitate to hire a professional.  With their assistance you can create a home design that you will be proud of for years to come.