Folded House

The Folded House is an energy efficient renovation of a 1950’s ranch-house in Minneapolis. Following a slight demolition of 270 square feet, only 370 square feet were added, lengthening and reshaping the home to provide stronger southern exposure for passive solar collection. The hall features spray foam and thermal breaks, black slate flooring on a thermal mass bed with a steel wall backed in phase change gel, so that the in-floor heat often never comes on, even on the coldest winter days. The folded roof with a cedar soffit is designed to shade the glass during the summer months. A 3D-modeled, laser cut awning on the plinth was folded origami-style and mostly fabricated off-site, and is self-supporting.