The Rose Multi-Family Housing

The Rose is a high-performance multifamily housing development in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It contains 42 market-rate units and 48 affordable dwelling units for people earning less than 50% of the area's median income, including efficiency apartments for formerly homeless individuals transitioning to independent living. A combination of one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations will accommodate a broad community of residents.

The Rose features a high-performance building envelope with simple, finely tuned shading/daylighting strategies – appropriate for other affordable housing initiatives because they are inexpensive, perform well and make the building beautiful. ("Beauty" is one of LBC's seven Petals, or performance areas.) Aeon and Hope Community have also invested in a solar garden project, with the aim of achieving zero-net-energy status in a few years. "We studied 23 wall types and had several meetings with the design team and Aeon's consultants to find the right balance of dew point, constructibility, air infiltration control, insulation type, cost, and on and on," says Rhys MacPherson, project manager for MSR Design. "And we did this for many, many systems and material selections throughout the project."

To help meet the needs described above, the building team chose long-lasting Pella® Impervia® fiberglass windows and doors for the buildings' fenestration systems, including the storefront system on the first floor of both buildings. The fiberglass window system provides excellent energy efficiency, high resistance to air and water infiltration and reduced potential for interior condensation. Factory-glazed products improved reliability and reduced installation time.

The fiberglass windows in the living units offer abundant daylight and natural ventilation while maximizing occupant comfort with warm interior surface temperatures, even on cold winter days. The fiberglass storefront system on the first floor utilizes large fixed frames with narrow sightlines and vertical mullions between windows. It's designed to meet wind load requirements while permitting the large expanse of glass to expand and contract. Energy-efficient Pella Impervia® fiberglass windows and doors helped the building team meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge.