Residential House Streeter by Salmela Architect in Dippin' Haven, Minnesota

Project: Residential House Streeter
Architects: Salmela Architect
Location: Dippin' Haven, Minnesota, USA
Area: 3000 sq ft
Photos: Peter Bastianelli Kerze

Residential House Streeter by Salmela Architect

The Residential House Streeter is a beautiful high-end residence designed by Salmela Architect. It is located on a well-maintained site in Dippin' Haven, Minnesota, near a small pond and wetland area. The house is an example of prefabricated elements with specific aesthetic expectations in the individual housing market.

Our client has been a contractor for high-end custom homes for the last 20 years. This is his seventh home in the series, built for himself, representing mainly an architectural and construction study that extends the boundaries of prefabricated structures within architectural design and aesthetic expectations in the individual housing market.

Unlike many prefabricated homes, this house was not designed around a system or pre-assembly product. Instead, we developed the home for him and his son, which features generous functions, sensitivity to its relationship with the land, and maintains an honest expression of its materials. The use of standard materials and enhanced development of a structural system using thermopanel (SIPs) was applied to the project. The richness of this home comes from the contradictions between ideas of custom and prefabricated construction.

Built on a small plot that many considered non-buildable due to the eastern pond and western wetlands, this house comfortably fits into one of the most dramatic and natural 'yards' in the area, exerting minimal impact on the surrounding terrain. The house consists of a set of elements: glass, concrete blocks, wooden Glulam beams, SIPs and pipes.

Despite maximum use of glazing that smoothly connects interior spaces with the external environment, shading and privacy methods embedded in the house's architecture allow internal spaces to be naturally lit throughout the day without the need for lighting, blinds or garden fencing.

Using locally produced 12”x12”x24” concrete blocks (specifically manufactured for this project) with black ash on both exterior and interior sides, a finished concrete floor, visible beams and pipes, and the absence of any ceramic or glass tile covering in the house—all this highlights honesty and practicality. However, the garage is styled as if it were another room in the house with the same lighting, fixtures and materials.

The structural system of the house maintains an honest expression. Prefabricated and pre-drilled Glulam wooden beams stand on concrete blocks and support large boxes (bedrooms) located above the main living space.

These two boxes (as well as all non-load-bearing walls and roofs) are entirely made from SIPs with factory-finished gypsum finish. Using SIPs for roof and wall systems increases thermal insulation 33% above current code requirements, making this home responsible today and in the future.

All galvanized and plastic pipes for electrical and mechanical systems are left exposed, like veins throughout the house. A separate building/tower with mechanical systems gains extraordinary significance.

What started as another home project for our client turned into a building with unexpected value. The idea of moving to Project #8 is no longer as simple as it once was.

–Salmela Architect