SPRING GROVE HERITAGE HOUSE

conceptual design | 2019

A Partnership between Spring Grove School District, the Spring Grove Economic Development Authority, & Habitat for Humanity - La Crosse.

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PROJECT INFO

In the summer of 2018, I was introduced to Houston County (MN)’s Economic Development Adviser and was asked if I could assist in their joint venture with the Spring Grove School District to provide students with an experience to learn about the design process and participate in hands-on construction. This manifested in the high school’s Makerspace class where students were involved in the architectural design process through a series of lectures and workshops that lead to the final design of the home.

The home’s design was informed by the town’s Norwegian-American roots as Spring Grove was founded in 1852, becoming the first Norwegian settlement in the state of Minnesota. We aspired to create a modern home that harkened back to the town’s Norwegian roots. Through a rigorous research process, I was able to narrow down the major regions of Norway from which Spring Grove’s immigrant populations hailed. We then selected architectural and organizational elements that were commonly used in those 19th century homes. It is our hope that, by utilizing culturally-relevant elements alongside the town’s embedded cultural knowledge and experience, our design would create an experience of nostalgia and homecoming.

After the finalization of the design concept, an opportunity opened up to build the home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity-La Crosse on a recently acquired empty lot in town. The project officially broke ground on May 17, or Syttende Mai, which is Norway’s Constitution Day and a big deal in this Norwegian-founded town. Construction commenced soon after and is expected to finish in early 2020.

 
 

THE PROCESS

 
 
 

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