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A contemporary prairie home that’s rooted in place

When you think of a house on the prairie, you might picture a farmhouse, but that’s not what this homeowner had in mind! He turned to Minneapolis-based Christopher Strom Architects for a contemporary design.
A contemporary prairie home with a unique look featuring a combination of siding types including black standing-seam metal, white polyash, and a thermally treated wood.
Christopher Strom, AIA, describes the home as a “landscape sculpture” serving as a counterpoint to the rolling prairie all around it. Its name, “Valdres,” translates in Norwegian to “valley of pastures in the forest,” nodding to the way its singular design connects with its surroundings. 

Landing on a natural form

“We pushed and pulled on the roof forms and where the glass openings were,” Strom said. In this way, he landed on a design that balances the “elegant proportions of Scandinavian minimalism with something a bit more rugged.” A black standing-seam metal roof wraps down some of the walls creating a striking shell that highlights the white poly-ash siding on opposing walls. Softening the color contrast is a charcoal-hued thermally treated wood siding. With its strong horizontal lines, it both counters the verticality of the other materials and accentuates the low-slung massing of the home. Borrowing from Mid-Century style, the shape is punctuated by large openings including clerestory windows and some almost panoramic corner windows from the E-Series product line. 

Most of the openings are concentrated toward the back of the home, which is nearly 4,000 square feet with the main floor and finished lower level. A combination of void and punched openings work together to bathe the mostly open-concept main floor in natural light. Because the space is so deep, Strom used the clerestory windows to ensure light would penetrate the interior no matter the angle of the sun. The floor-to-ceiling windows lining the back wall of the home preserve privacy while orienting views toward a wetland. “The wetland changes quite a bit over the course of the year, so we used views of it to anchor the house,” he said. 

“We like black windows because they let your eye go past the frame and focus on the landscape.”

Christopher Strom, AIA

A dining nook with black-framed casement windows taking up two walls.
“When the spring rains come, the wetland fills up like a pond attracting sandhill cranes and other wildlife,” Strom said. The ever-changing nature of this landscape feature made it the perfect focal point for the home and affected window placement and aesthetic decisions, including color choice. “We like black windows because they let your eye go past the frame and focus on the landscape.” Photography by Spacecrafting. 
Products Shown
E-Series Casement Windows
E-Series Casement Window
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Designing in functionality

Beaming in sunlight that “animates” the space dynamically is certainly a wonderful benefit of the clerestory windows, but it’s not the only one. These windows are part of a stack ventilation system that’s just one of many sustainable features designed into the house. The stack ventilation system takes advantage of convection, allowing cool air in through the low-placed awning windows on the wetland-facing side of the house while the high-placed clerestory windows on the street side vent out the hot air. One of the best aspects of this design is that it works at the touch of a button since the clerestory windows are automated. Power operation is available with our E-Series Awning Windows.
A floor-to-ceiling E-Series Picture Window next to a fireplace blurs the line between indoors and outdoors in this living room.
The E-Series windows in this home were artfully integrated to further both the form and the function — creating composition and framing views while also allowing for passive solar heat gain and natural ventilation. Photography by Spacecrafting. 
Products Shown
e series picture window
E-Series Picture Window
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Another sustainable feature included in the home is a sun canopy that extends over the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the wetland-facing wall of the living room. Here, a series of three mulled units including E-Series-Casement Windows and E-Series Awning Windows, combine with an E-Series Hinged Patio Door to frame an expansive view that’s 16 feet wide by 8 feet tall. The Low-E4® low-emissivity glass coating was selected to help keep conditioned air inside and make the home more comfortable in all seasons — understand more about our Low-E options. The canopy outside furthers comfort by both filtering sunlight to prevent too much solar heat gain in the summer when the sun is high, and by letting in low sunlight when it’s needed in the winter.  
An exterior shot of the home showing the home’s unique profile and patio, which features distinct rooms for eating, hanging out, and enjoying a fire.
The sun canopy over the patio not only makes the outdoor living space more comfortable, it also makes the indoor living space more comfortable by filtering light in a way that avoids excess solar heat gain in summer while still allowing sunlight through in winter. Photography by Spacecrafting. 

Other notable efficiency features include the tight building envelope that helps the home perform well in all seasons. Structurally insulated panels (SIPs) in the roof and walls work together with insulated concrete forms (ICF) in the basement to create continuous insulation. 

A diagram of the home with labels to indicate the various sustainable strategies integrated into its design.
The many thoughtful sustainable strategies included in Valdres help the home sit a little lighter on the land.  
Although this home is certainly open to its surroundings, there’s also a theme of protection throughout. While the large windows make the most of the views, the materials wrap the building in such a way that they provide a buffer to the elements. The home is sited so the owner can enjoy the natural beauty of his surroundings without sacrificing his own privacy or interfering with that of his neighbors.
An exterior view of the home as seen from the rear with prairie in the foreground.
The majority of large windows and doors in Valdres are concentrated on the back side to showcase views and preserve the homeowner’s privacy. 
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Meet Christopher Strom

Christopher studied art at St. Olaf College prior to receiving a Master's Degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. Upon returning to Minnesota, he became a Project Designer at Ellerbe Becket, working on the design of both domestic and international projects including convention centers, health care facilities, and high-rise office towers. He was lead designer for the Tostrud Athletic Center at St. Olaf College. From 2003 to 2014 Chris designed and managed construction for many new homes, additions, and remodels. Upon earning the 2014 AIA Minnesota “Emerging Talent Award” for residential architecture, he founded Christopher Strom Architects.

His work has been selected for nine AIA Minnesota Star Tribune "Homes of the Month" and several Mpls.St Paul Magazine RAVE Awards. Eight of his designs have been featured on AIA Minnesota “Homes by Architects” tours. Most recently, Chris was an active participant in crafting the Minneapolis and Edina Accessory Dwelling Ordinances and serves as an instructor at St. Olaf College for an upper-level studio course on architectural design. In 2016, Chris was honored with an AIA Minnesota “Young Architect Award” for exceptional leadership and significant contributions to the profession.

Christopher Strom Architects celebrated their tenth business anniversary in 2024.  Also in 2024, Chris received the highest residential honor in Minnesota, the 2024-25 American Institute of Architects-MN “Residential Architect of Distinction.” He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two sons.

Christopher Strom

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