Annual Minnesota homes tour shows architectural influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, Japan, nature

Dramatic rooflines triangulate into knife-like points, contrasting pine siding with a lighter finish that ties it together with the neighboring home.

“The name of the house kYodai is Japanese for brothers,” said lead architect Jeremy Imhoff of Imprint Architecture and Design. “That carries through the entire design. The two houses are like brothers. They’re different yet the same.”

Constructed to compliment the home next door, kYodai — one of 14 homes featured on the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Homes by Architects Tour — is a fusion of infamous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s style and architecture in its namesake Japan. Japanese architecture also heavily influenced Wright, so combining the two seemed right, Imhoff said.

Imhoff and his wife, Sara Imhoff, designed the home into three areas, creating three courtyard-like areas. One at the front welcomes visitors, another in the back embraces the nearby lake, and the third creates a connection between the two houses.

“By creating the three wings, we minimized the size of the footprint and were able to bring in more daylight into the house,” Jeremy Imhoff said. “It makes the house feel really light, and it creates this great connection to the outdoors.”

People can view the home in Marine on Saint Croix, about a 45-minute drive northeast of the Twin Cities, during the 17th-annual event. The self-guided tour — two homes are virtual only — runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and allows visitors to meet architects and design teams while learning about the development process and finding inspiration for their own homes, said Ann Mayhew, AIA public relations outreach manager.

From designer Carl Gauley and Grayspace Architecture, this four-cabin development encourages guests to enjoy the great outdoors along Minnesota’s North Shore. Located in Lutsen near Lake Superior, waterfalls, rivers and countless trails, each cabin has a private sauna and fire pit.

Just a few miles from nearby Lutsen Mountains Ski and Summer Resort, the A-frame structures and are on elevated concrete piers to accommodate the sloping site. They can also withstand 120 inches of annual snowfall.

Each cabin — available for virtual tours only — has hydronic radiant heating systems that provide a lower energy profile. Plus with a focus on mental wellness, the architect built decks and large windows with views of the forest and designed light-colored plywood walls and ceilings to reflect natural daylight throughout the interior.

The 1954 midcentury modern home — from designers E.J. Hansen and Jay Boyle — was on the market for just 10 minutes last year, and it sold to buyers who wanted to renovate the house, not tear it down. R.A. Norsen — an admirer of Wright— originally designed and built the home. Norsen also helped pioneer the concept of “non-confined living for a confining climate.”

The home features salvaged original mahogany boards and trim reused in the sunroom and mudroom. With a focus on the environment, water collected on site adds natural restoration of the land to promote wildlife in the area. There are also plans to replace the asphalt driveway with a new gravel one.

In south Minneapolis, designers Nathaniel Tollefson, Isaac Tapp and Craft Design Build made architectural updates to the Harriet House to achieve energy efficiency without sacrificing contemporary design aesthetics. The house underwent a full energy retrofit with continuous exterior insulation, new siding, windows, mechanical systems and a full solar shingle roof to reduce the home’s energy needs and eliminate any reliance on fossil fuels.

The architects focused on making sure they used new materials to accomplish the contemporary aesthetic without it feeling out of place in the traditional neighborhood.

Built in an architect-designed community on 200 acres of restored prairie in Grant, Minn. east of the Twin Cities, the design team of Brent Nelson, Ashley Banden Bosch, Anna Beth Gunderson and PKA Architecture built the Prärie Hus to reflect German and Nordic heritage. But the home also emphasizes sustainability, accommodations for aging in place and multigenerational living in the future.

Four pavilions house two separate primary suites with living spaces. The home has energy efficient products like an HVAC system with geothermal heating, high-efficiency forced air and radiant in-floor heating. Windows and sliding doors allow for sunlight to stream in during the day, but the lighting plan minimizes night-time light pollution to help keep the prairie skies dark.

Tickets are $25 purchased in advanced online at HomesByArchitects.org. On-site tickets are $35, cash only. A ticket to access the two virtual tour homes and accompanying online content is $5. Online visits are available Saturday through Oct. 13. Discounted tickets for youth and students are $12. Children age 5 and younger are free.