Designs that Blend

 

Designs that Blend
 
While residents in some city neighborhoods and first-ring suburbs complain about new houses and out-of-scale remodels that ruin their views and block their light, members of the Fulton Neighborhood Association in southwest Minneapolis took a different tact when they started the BLEND awards in 2007. The acronym may be belabored (it stands for “Buildings and Landscapes Enhancing the Neighborhood through Design”), but the idea of recognizing newly constructed and remodeled homes that blend into the fabric of a neighborhood rather than clashing with it is at least as constructive as posting those “No Monster Houses” signs. This year, six projects received a BLEND award through the program, which expanded beyond the Fulton neighborhood and now includes the Armatage, East Harriet Farmstead, Kenny, Linden Hills, Lynnhurst, and West Calhoun neighborhoods.
 
This year’s winners:
 
4623 Humboldt Ave S (remodel/addition)
Architect: Rehkamp Larson Architects, Mark Larson, AIA, and Ryan Bicek, AIA
Builder: Reuter Walton Construction Inc.
Homeowner: Nick and Wendy Brown
 
4027 Sheridan Ave S (new construction)
Architect: Domain Architecture & Design, Gabriel Keller, Associate AIA, and Lars Peterssen, AIA
Builder: Elevation Homes
Homeowner: Elevation Homes
 
4741 Emerson Ave S (addition/remodel)
Architect: Domain Architecture & Design, Gabriel Keller, Associate AIA, Dan Peterson, Associate AIA, and Jason Briles, Associate AIA
Builder: SilverMark, Inc. Design & Build Residential Remodeling
Homeowner: Stephen and Suzanne Fry
 
5155 Xerxes Ave S (remodel/addition)
Homeowner: Eric Faith and Ethel Faith-Nahmad
 
4546 Fremont Ave S (remodel/addition)
Architect: TreHus Builders, Inc., in-house design
Builder: TreHus Builders, Inc.
Homeowner: Steve Sigmond and Jenny Goloboy
 
5124 Colfax Ave S (remodel/addition)
Architect: TreHus Builders, Inc., in-house design
Builder: TreHus Builders, Inc.
Homeowner: Toby and Kelly Bent
 

 

 

Chris Lee, a longtime magazine writer and editor, has been a keen observer of the Twin Cities thriving design scene for more than a decade. As editor of Midwest Home, she combines her passion for all things home with her love of good story telling.