The eclectic four-bedroom custom home features 4,500 square feet of one-level living – including a grand foyer, two bedrooms, a parlor and an office – and 1,500 square feet of upper level living space, with two bedrooms and bonus room situated above an oversized 4-car garage. Outside is 1,600 square feet of open-air living space, 300 of which is covered, intertwined with native, edible and medicinal vegetation. The Brazadian makes use of 24-foot ceilings throughout the main living area, giving it an air of grandiosity, with an indoor timber trellis that extends into the outdoor living space.

Designed as a "forever home," accessibility was a major design component. No matter where you are on the main level, the floor is at the same level as the yard, creating an age-in-place design. The biggest challenge was tying sustainability into a 6k square foot home. To offset the materials required to build, we wove in an eclectic look of recycled/repurposed interiors like salvaged doors, windows, and even old St. Paul Rodeo chute boards turned decorative shutters. Organic hand-plastered walls can be seen in most rooms in the home and feature elegant stenciled designs, bringing back a colonial flavor. Some of these materials took close to a year prior to the build to acquire to ensure they could be brought back to life. They then became the focal point and inspiration for the rest of the home’s design.

Along with a tight building envelope, HRV technology, and solar panel system, you’ll also find elements like earthen heated tile floors warmed by two geothermal loops that span 4 acres, two electronic air cleaners, an HVAC system that promotes hospital-grade air, and an Air Scrubber that literally alters the molecules to sanitize your hard surfaces while removing indoor contaminants. All wood used was locally sourced, then milled and stained with low VOC products on site with the sawdust mulched back into the soil.
The Brazadian was a nearly 3 year labor of love that resulted in the largest Net Zero home Urban has ever built. Showcasing a myriad of green design features and technology, it is a testament to how Urban NW sees green building as something much more than energy efficiency: That a truly "green" home can only exist when holistic sustainability is taken into account.