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Pays den Haut - “If we can m ove into an open horizon where we can live in our m odern world with ancient dream s that have always stirred us, then our work will have been done.” Sigurd Olson.
It is this desire that drew the client, a retired couple, to this existing 300 m 2 hom e in Duluth, Minnesota. With their m ove they were downsizing and seeking a sim plified lifestyle grounded in nature, efficiency, durability, and well-crafted m odern spaces.
The renovated design engages with the powerful landscape, im proves function and flow, and m axim izes built-in storage. Screens, canopies, decks, and terraces were added to enhance the exterior design and create a series of new outdoor room s. A wood slat screen wall weaves the building into the landscape, softens the existing building angles, provides visual privacy, and creates a safe barrier at a steep cliff. Interior walls and room layouts were adjusted so one interacts with m ultiple exterior views in every space. With an 84% reduction in heating load the traditional heating system and lower furnace room were elim inated allowing a transform ation of the stairwell into an open, daylight filled, sculptural space.
Context - Clim bing the ridge of ancient ledge rock and gazing across Lake Superior, one’s heart is filled with a fierce joy. It is the irresistible pleasure of the wild and far horizons that gives one an expansiveness of the soul and a sense of uncounted centuries.
Pays d’en Haut was the French nam e for this land and that feeling.
The great joy of being without boundaries…of exploration …of equilibrium with nature.
This renovated hom e acts as a vessel for those feelings. Boundaries rem oved, vistas cleanly fram ed, surrounding developm ent screened, doors opened to new exterior room s, and a sm ooth cascading flow between spaces, floors, and terraces. The passage of tim e, seasons and weather visible in the light, shadow, and reflection cast over neutral and m irrored surfaces. Nature’s warm hues and delicate patterns referenced in the wood, m arble, and m etal fixtures. The flow of sim ilar m aterials and details between exterior and interior encouraging the eye and the spirit to m ove freely. Climate - There is a wonderful sense of peacefulness, when Pays d’en Haut becom es a snow globe in a fierce winter storm and the only heat being used is that from the sun not seen for m any days. It is m ore than resiliency. It is a feeling of lightness and freedom to enjoy the raw wild beauty of this harsh clim ate in com fort, passively and naturally, without using fossil fuels.
The Northern Minnesota clim ate is extrem e with January low tem peratures between
-20˚C and –35˚C. Using sim ple elem ents such as super-insulation, passive solar heating, rigorous air-tightness, triple-pane glass, and high-efficiency heat recovery ventilation, this renovated hom e has a peak heating load of just 4300 watts (the equivalent of two hairdryers) to m aintain a 20˚C interior tem perature. A sm all bio-ethanol ventless fireplace (a renewable fuel) satisfies this load with m inim al use.
The design m eets the requirem ents of an EnerPHit project (Energy Retrofit with Passive House Com ponents) through the Passive House Institute (PHI). It achieves a 79% reduction in energy dem and com pared to the existing building.
Construction - Construction was completed with sim ple low-tech m aterials, rigorous attention to detail, and m inim al environm ental im pact. 95% of the existing structure was kept in place and 80% of the deconstructed m aterials were reused or recycled. A 30 cm rem ote-wall wood truss filled with cellulose insulation was added to the exterior walls, a cost effective and low-carbon footprint approach. New triple-pane glazing and passive house certified fram es were installed. These very large operating doors and windows provide passive solar heating, natural ventilation, and natural lighting. A continuous air-tight layer was constructed and verified with blower door testing. An 84% efficient HRV, installed in a m aster bathroom cabinet, provides excellent indoor air quality, without losing heat, and has an autom atic sum m er by-pass for passive cooling.
Longevity, peace of m ind, ease of use, and sim plified living.
There is an ease in knowing one’s hom e is built to last, requires near-zero m aintenance, and allows for aging-in-place. The exterior m aterials of stone, stainless steel, zinc, and therm ally-treated wood are tim eless in design and long-lasting. The window flashing system , the rainscreen cladding, and the vented roof all have m ultiple air spaces, drainage channels, and weather resistant layers utilizing flexible, com pression sealants and sm art breathable m em branes to handle the wind-driven rain off Lake Superior and repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The diffuse-open wall and roof assem blies were evaluated for long- term m oisture perform ance using hygrotherm al m odeling. Zero-threshold large doors
and an accessible exterior walkway around the garage were added so the lower floor could function as a barrier-free living space. Finally, the projected energy savings will last the lifetim e of the building as the reduction com es from passive com ponents rather than high-tech system s that m ay becom e outdated or require repair.
Innovation - The innovation of Pays d’en Haut is the unseen.
It is the accom plishm ent of a fluid and open living connection with the m ost extrem e clim ate and beautiful landscape, while working within the constraints of an existing structure, and achieving significant energy freedom using invisible, but rigorous, planning m ethods. It is a patient and slow-m oving architecture, resisting the tem ptation of the sexy or cutting-edge.
The construction focus is on the elem ental: sun, cellulose, wood, glass, stone, fire, and air.
The innovation is the quiet engineering of these basic elem ents, thus, allowing the scent of the pine trees, the sound of the wind, the mCarly Coulson, AIA, LEED AP.
Carly Coulson Architect integrates the diverse disciplines that combine to make contemporary building into beautiful, humane, and sustainable environments.
Ms. Coulson is the Principal and Owner of the architecture firm COULSON. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree and is a Crown Scholar from the Illinois Institute of Technology. She has worked on highly-innovative, sustainable solutions since she first started practicing as a designer at Foster & Partners. She has received numerous awards for design excellence including national and regional AIA Honor Awards, Architectural Record Good Design is Good
Business Award, Architect Home of Year Award, Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, and Residential Architect Design Awards while designing projects at Salmela Architect. Carly was recognized with a COTE Top Ten Award and Architect Annual Design Review Award for the Bagley Classroom, the first LEED Platinum and passive house building at the University of Minnesota. Ovem ent of light, and the passage of tim e to be the story of this place.
