If you're thinking about something very simple and mentioned metal buildings Google 'barn homes.' You can also look at 'lockwood.co.nz' and 'concepthome.com.' Those are two of my favorite house plan sites, and I believe both are out of New Zealand. They're a little modern but are very simple and usually have open floor plans. You will just have to convert meters to feet.

Since you mentioned you will build in ND and your insulation I thought I would mention this from Greenbuildingadvisor.com:

"However, the most earth-shaking changes found in Table 402.1.1 are the wall insulation requirements for climate zones 6, 7, and 8 — an area that includes Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. In these zones, the 2012 code calls for above-grade walls to have at least “R-20+R-5” insulation or “R-13+R-10” insulation.

The table includes the following footnote explaining the wall R-value requirements that include a “plus” sign, including the requirements for climate zones 6 though 8: “[The] first value is cavity insulation, [the] second is continuous insulation or insulated siding, so ‘13+5’ means R-13 cavity insulation plus R-5 continuous insulation or insulated siding. If structural sheathing covers 40 percent or less of the exterior, continuous insulation R-value shall be permitted to be reduced by no more than R-3 in the locations where structural sheathing is used – to maintain a consistent total sheathing thickness.”

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/overview-2012-energy-code

Now the pros on GW will tell you code is the minimum you should build to. We are working with an architect now and will hopefully start in the Spring in NE Iowa. We're shooting for around R42 in the walls.

Good luck.

ETA: We also looked into putting up a metal building for a house, but we realized it was going to be a wash with the way we would finish it.

If you're building on a slab and have floor heat, plan on insulating under the slab as well. Otherwise, you are trying to heat the whole planet. Actually, any slab in just about any climate should be insulated.

It's been found that air infiltration is as big a factor as insulation, so consider that when choosing a building system. I don't know if you have building codes and inspections to deal with, but 3" of foam is nowhere near enough, even for code minimum.

Shane,

I would also look at ICF or SIPs construction as well.

Fred

Contact a local architect. They will have knowledge of building methods suitable for your region.

metal framing conducts heat/cold very well.

to keep the thermal transfer from happening, you have

to provide a thermal break.

one way to do this would be to put foam sheathing on exterior

of studs/rafters, then attach metal panels over the foam sheathing.

otherwise the metal framing heats up/cools down and reduces the

performance of the insulation between studs.

or spray foam insulation in joist/rafter bays.

best of luck

Our home is standard framing with ribbed metal for the exterior. It took a bit more to put purlins between the studs. My husband wanted metal siding for durability, so that's what we got. In my eyes its just an exterior choice like brick and vinyl.