Urban building recycles rainwater
The Sundial Building is nearing completion in Minneapolis, and architect Marques King has posted images and some of its features on LinkedIn. The building features a cool rainwater collection system that recycles approximately 90,000 gallons of water anticipated to fall on the roof annually, sufficient for the toilets of 12 living spaces and outside irrigation.
It also incorporates solar power and a super efficient HVAC system, as King describes. But the greenest aspect is the location of the handsome building in a walkable urban neighborhood. Here’s his explanation:
“I finished the Sundial Building in 2023 along with my partners and friends over at Heirloom Development. It's a 12-residence 'Missing Middle' walk-up apartment building in the heart of South Minneapolis. It's also the self-proclaimed ‘greenest 12 plex in the Midwest.’ The project was designed to European passive house standards and incorporates solar electric, solar thermal, underground water management, and hyper-efficient HVAC system. But the ‘greenest’ feature of all is the gentle density of the project. The Sundial Building sits at the transition point of two neighborhood scales or place types, going from single-family to 3-story mixed-use/transit corridor. It's a favorite project of mine because it’s proof that density doesn't have to be scary if you design it right. You have to pay careful attention to context and design WITHOUT an ego. Soon, we will go back and take updated pictures once the native rain garden has been installed and plants established.”
The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization funded all of the underground rain and ground water storage infrastructure on the outside of the building.
