Someone in the market for a new home in Proctor could get one built to the highest energy and environmental standards in the country -- if Proctor High School students get the chance to build it.
A contest held by the Minnesota chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council asked college students and young professionals to design a home to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum standards, basing it on a site in Proctor owned by the Proctor school district.
"Every year, the school builds a house," said Mike Leiste, a teacher's assistant for Proctor's building construction program. "If everything else works out right, we might be able to build it."
The contest is held in a different city each year. Proctor was approached because a past winner was from Duluth and knew about the school's building program. This year the contest had 20 teams competing, which were asked to design a 1,800-square-foot home on a budget of $150,000, including materials and labor.
"It's really challenging to build to LEED platinum," said Sheri Brezinka, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. "We tried to make it challenging intentionally."
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The winners of the Natural Talent Design Competition are Nate Tickner, Dane Steinlicht, Matt Sand, Brad Gelschus and Joe Lochner. The five entered as young professionals and all work in the Twin Cities area.
Leiste, who also acted as a judge during the contest, said he looked at whether a particular design fit in the Proctor neighborhood it would be built in, and whether high school students would be able to build it. A winning design from the competition has never been built before. Leiste said Proctor agreed to the competition because that was a possibility for students.
"We thought the school would have the best opportunity because they have lower labor costs," he said. "The kids can build a standard house," so a LEED platinum house would be a good challenge if everything falls into place.
"Everybody involved really wants to see this built," he said, "and everybody involved has offered to help."
Leiste said he would work on securing the project throughout the next year. Last year's house was built for about $150,000 and was sold, including property the district owned, for $214,000 before the house was finished. If the class is able to build the house, someone probably could buy it before it's finished, Leiste said.
The winning design helps serve as a model for residential construction in northern Minnesota, where energy credits are rigorous because of the weather.
