Located in an old downtown neighborhood in Racine, Wisconsin, this 1,900 square foot house for a young family demonstrates how a small, sustainable residence built with a moderate budget can become a confident, new-urban constituent and a harbinger of change.

One of the first LEED Platinum certified homes in the Upper Midwest, the house occupies a narrow infill lot along the edge of Lake Michigan, completing a row of residences built over the last century. Based on massing studies testing the building’s performance in relation to site constraints, program, accessibility to sunlight, shading, stormwater management, and vegetation, the building is a simple rectangular volume that mediates between the three-story mansion to the north and the mid-century ranch to the south.