“If your boiler breaks down on Christmas, you won’t have to find another place to stay.”

Keeping warm in the cold north can be a challenge, but Rachel thinks it should not be a challenge indoors. Warmth and comfort come easily in the low-energy homes she designs. Her concentration on energy efficient and passive solar design led to a focus in environmentally responsible architecture.

Rachel loves to blend regional materials and iconic forms with advanced building performance aimed at reducing energy consumption while increasing the occupants’ comfort. She enjoys focusing on the details of a project, and is as adept as choosing color schemes as she is at selecting heating systems. Her favorite design tool is the sun.

Early experiences designing community-built playgrounds shaped Rachel’s belief that a process fostering creative participation and communication between all invested parties can enrich both the design and the experience for participants.

As co-owner of Wagner Zaun, Rachel pursues integrated design solutions while sharing the duties of running a business. She continues to lead the firm’s research efforts into sustainable materials and methods, and is energized by the collaborative approach that happens in their office.

Rachel regularly gives presentations and seminars about sustainable and low-energy building design at conferences and community events locally and nationally.

In her spare time, when she isn’t reading back issues of Energy Design Update, she can often be found in the garden or on the beach with her dog.

Education and Licensure

  • B.S. in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University
  • Registered Architect in Wisconsin and California

Experience and Affiliations

  • Member of the Duluth Energy Design Conference planning committee  2005-present
  • Board Member, Hartley Nature Center, Duluth, MN 2011-present
  • DOE Building America Research Team Member 2010-present (NorthernSTAR Energy Efficiency Housing Research Partnership)

Highlights

  • Designed Eco-Home solar demonstration home in Duluth, MN
  • Authored Fine Homebuilding article, May 2008, “Houses You Can Heat with a Hair Dryer”
  • Skyline House featured as a case study in:
    • Energy Design Update (journal)
    • Green Building Advisor website
    • U of MN Center for Sustainable Building Research report
    • Home Energy Magazine
    • Chapter 9 in the book Homes for a Changing Climate/Passive Houses in the U.S.

Wagner Zaun