Wooded Contemporary

Minnetonka, Minnesota

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

This project asked a deceptively simple question: how do you make a contemporary home feel like it has always belonged to its land? Set into a partially wooded, steeply sloping lot, the design had to resolve two completely different conditions — a highly visible street-facing slope with almost no usable flat ground, and a primary entrance built entirely over the underground garage, with no soil to plant in.

The slope is planted as a living tapestry of native grasses and perennials — a dense, seasonally shifting composition, showy from the street and ecologically meaningful throughout. Partway down, a leveled firepit terrace is carved into the grade, anchored by a powder-coated steel retaining wall that feathers into the planting and a custom wood bench. Cutting across the full width of the site, an elevated powder-coated steel grate pathway hovers above the hillside without touching it — and without counting against the site's hardcover allowance.

The entrance courtyard above the garage is a rooftop garden in all but name: fine granite gravel inlaid with linear paver bands, flanked by custom steel planters overflowing with flowering trees, ferns, and broadleaf shrubs, and anchored by a board-formed concrete feature wall. The same material vocabulary — warm wood, powder-coated steel, board-formed concrete — runs through every space on the site, tying a complex, multi-level design into a single coherent whole.

Outdoor construction scene with a modern building featuring wood siding and large window, gravel paving with inset lines of pavers, a board-formed concrete wall, and tall trees in the background under a clear blue sky.
Exterior view of a modern building with large windows and a metal staircase leading to an upper entrance, surrounded by green trees and a partly cloudy blue sky.
Construction site with metal grate walkway and steps, foundation bed with drainage boards in a green, wooded area.
Construction site with metal grates forming a pathway, building framing with steel support columns, dirt ground, trees in background, and a blue sky.
Scaffolding set up on a patio in front of a house with a grey wooden exterior. Shadows cast by nearby trees are visible on the tiled ground.
Modern two-story house with large windows, exterior staircase, and balcony, situated on a dirt lot under a clear blue sky.
Rendering of grated steel pathway floating over lush woodland plantings, heading toward a patio with a modern house in the background
Rendering of a firepit with wood block stool seating and a long angled bench attached to a steel retaining wall, set in lush prairie plantings with steps up to a modern house.
Rendering of a seating area in a courtyard of a modern house, with brick and gravel paving and large beige raised bed planter boxes with trees, shrubs, and groundcover.
Rendering of a brick paved drive court to a wood-clad modern house, surrounded by wild grasses and other plantings.
Rendering of a patio with beige rectangular pavers, surrounded by lush greenery and flowering plants, with a wooden bench along a concrete retaining wall, and grated steel steps.
Rendering of a nighttime aerial view of a backyard garden with a fire pit surrounded by wooden stools and a wooden bench, lush green plants, colorful flowers, and tall trees in the background.
Rendering of a patio with beige rectangular pavers, chairs and a small table, bench seating with lights beneath it, overlooking lush green trees and shrubs during sunset.