A Sense of Place

Experience the stories behind the architecture

Photo by Dana Wheelock

The Homes by Architects tour is more than ooh and ahh…it’s about experiencing the architecture of a home and understanding why and how dramatic to subtle design moves provoke emotions and create a sense of place.

The tour’s 29 homes cover a wide variety of sizes and styles, each designed for a specific client. You will see simple to avant-garde style; modest to generous budgets; a cross-section of lifestyles from lakeside to city loft to farmhouses; and functional design decisions in material and siting meant to make the most of materials and land.

Each home on the tour took a great deal of collaboration. Architects play many roles, from designer to project manager. They are trained to insure the health, safety, and welfare of the people who live in the homes they design. They also work to bring cost savings and other efficiencies through timing and materials to benefit the homeowner. They are skilled in working with other design-related professionals to get the most value for the project.

The 18 different Twin Cities architectural firms participating in this tour range from single- to 50-person offices offering varying services and specialties. The tour showcases this variety and is meant to help homeowners in the process of selecting an architect.

Virtually Tour a Home in Iowa

One of the homes on the Homes by Architects Tour is actually in Iowa. But you’ll experience it through a tool that is revolutionizing the way in which architects communicate design to the public: virtual reality. The proposed project was built atop a ridge in a densely forested sloped site that sheds its water into the Des Moines River in Boone, Iowa. The elongated, low volume of the main body with a screen porch at both ends blends the house to the natural site.

The public will be able to “walk” through this house, located 230 miles away from Minneapolis, in a digital lab at the Walter Library on the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. The virtual reality tour lets people “inhabit” and become acquainted with the spaces proposed by architects that will be at the lab, along with photographs and plans, so visitors may gain a better understanding of the completed project.

6 ISSUES (1 YEAR)

Only $9.95!

63% off newsstand price.
Includes annual HomeBook.

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