Architect Sarah Nettleton
With funding from the Department of Art/Art History and the Johnson Endowment for the Arts, acclaimed “green” architect Sarah Nettleton will present a lecture in Wallenberg Auditorium, Tuesday, November 16 at 4:30 p.m. on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus. As part of this day-long residency, one of Nettleton’s creations, The Spear House on the Ottawa Road, will be open to the public to tour from 1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. that same day. Buses will leave the Three Flags Circle every 30 minutes to take students and staff to the house for the tours. The house tour and the lecture are free and open to the public.
Founded in Minneapolis in 1989, Sarah Nettleton Architects combines landscape design with architecture is a “commonsense way of considering the site and the building as a whole where Zero Net Annual Energy is a practical poetic alternative to business as usual.” Or, as Nettleton writes, they find a way to “simple sustainable.”
Among her acclaimed works is a small cabin located on a point with panoramic views of Lake Superior. The Tofte Cabin stands as an example of a sustainably designed cold climate cabin in a region with few such models. The modest footprint of the existing cabin was extended by a mere 3%, to 945 square feet. Energy needs for heating and appliances, calculated at 47% of a code compliant similar
The Tofte Cabin, interior
cabin, are met on site by solar electric, a wind generator and a groundsource heat pump. The actual energy use is monitored at ZERO NET ANNUAL ENERGY. Framing lumber is from recycled sources or from FSC certified sustainable forests, while interior finishes are formaldehyde-free and low VOC. More than 95% of demolition and construction waste was either reused or recycled.
Along with her design work, Nettleton is a sought-after media resource and a national speaker. She has won numerous awards and written The Simple House with design journalist Frank Martin. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Architecture School and has taught architectural technology at the Minneapolis Technical and Community College.
Sarah Nettleton’s visit to Gustavus is possible with funding from the Department of Art and Art History and the Johnson Endowment for the Arts. The afternoon tours of the Spear House and the 4:30 lecture in Wallenberg Auditorium are free and open to the public.