Geodesic Dome Renovation
This renovation transforms a 1980s geodesic dome, originally conceived during the height of the energy crisis, into a bright, connected, and contemporary home. A new primary suite frames views of the surrounding forest, while an open kitchen maintains visual and acoustic connection to the living and dining areas. Fresh finishes throughout renew the interior without erasing its character. Designed decades ago as a “cabin in the woods” close to the city, the original home reflected its owners’ commitment to energy conservation and forward-thinking design. In updating it, the challenge was clear: How can something new honor and love what’s old? How can the essence of a place be carried forward without losing what makes it special?
Location
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Design Team
Kevin Barden and Joe Rivers
Typology
Residential
Date
2022-2024
Interior Design
I/O Design Office
Structural Engineering
Larsen Engineering
General Contractor
Sexton and Associates
Photography
Leonid Furmansky
Process
Explore
The Tree Farm Clubhouse
New Holland, South Carolina
Commercial
Located on an ideal site featuring sandy soils and rolling topography near Aiken, South Carolina, The Tree Farm Clubhouse seeks to bring to life a transcendent modern golf experience that respects, amplifies, and blends in with the natural landscape. In line with this vision, there will be no flashy buildings driven by a desire for luxurious experiences. Instead, the master plan and buildings for the project all work toward creating simple, thoughtful spaces that are rooted in and responsive to the place, climate, culture, and rich history of the game of golf.
Michelle Haynes
Swing Dancer, Fitness Coach & Entrepreneur
Culture and Community
In this episode, our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden visit with Michelle Haynes, a swing dancer, fitness instructor, and entrepreneur from Houston, Texas. Michelle Haynes is a veteran of the competitive swing dancing community, both in Houston and at the national level, and about two years ago turned her enthusiasm for dance, movement, and teaching into an entrepreneurial venture, opening a group fitness gym. Joe and Kevin sat down with Michelle to discuss her beginnings in swing dancing and how her passions evolved into her new business.
Pallasmaa On The Sublime
Kevin Barden
Writing
The emergence of digital and virtual technologies in the past decade has flourished exponentially giving academic environments and professional practices a newfound basis for collaboration between process and product. This essay proposes that we cannot lose sight of the underlying sources which drive a good process (whether digital, virtual, or manual) and lead to the opportunity for a great product. In his paper for the 101st Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, New Constellations New…