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Then, in 2003, a violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra asked Warner to create a small, modern cabin she could put on some land in Wisconsin as a rural getaway. The weeHouse® was born. The original 336-square-foot weeHouse was built “in-factory,” Warner says, and shipped to the site on a truck. A crane placed the structure on top of a pier foundation. The cementitious siding was coated with oxidizing paint that provided a rustic, hardy finish. The interior included wood-wrapped walls, IKEA cabinetry and accessories, and floor-to-ceiling Andersen windows.
Since then, Alchemy has designed and constructed weeHouses (and not-so-weeHouses) in various iterations throughout the country. The Sonoma weeHouse, built for an Apple Senior Design Director of Real Estate and Development, won the 2018 Small Projects Award from the American Institute of Architects. For Warner, the weeHouse, a form of modular construction, was developed as a way of delivering efficient yet elegant design; a small, sustainable option for houses, offices, rooftop studios, and multi-unit developments, as well as cabins.
Next, Warner and his team have moved on to designed the barnHouse, which draws from the rural vernacular and celebrates lofted interior spaces. Barn Houses are constructed with 12” SIP (Structural Insulated Panels) floor, wall and ceiling panels; passive-house windows and window shrouds; and a central utility core in which the kitchen, bathroom, sleep, and laundry areas are located.
Then came the lightHotel art project, a tiny sustainable motel room on wheels that moved around Minneapolis and St. Paul—including to museums, a community garden, and a city park. “A beacon for ecotourism and sustainable living,” the lightHotel was available for rent via Airbnb. Constructed from an 8′ x 20′ shipping container, the lightHotel has a spray-foam shell, triple-glazed windows, and doors, solar-powered HVAC, LED lighting, and hydronic in-floor heat. A 250-gallon water tank of well-water supplies the water for an on-demand hot water heater, and a bio-filter produces re-usable greywater. Guest experiences and the lightHotel’s itinerary were mapped online, educating guests on conservation and sustainability. (For a video on the lightHotel, go here.) In 2018, Tom Puzak, an entrepreneur and mountain-bike enthusiast, bought the lightHotel as the centerpiece of a sustainable, off-grid “Getaway Circle" he’s building in Minnesota’s Cuyuna Lakes area.
Camille LeFevre
Camille LeFevre is an architecture and design writer based in the Twin Cities.