Alchemy Architects

Alchemy Architects Alchemy makes stimulating, engaging, and efficient design attainable for a wide audience. Turning the mundane into gold—how can Alchemy deliver design to you?

Alchemy’s distinct hands-on approach to architecture and design combines a playful design process, collaborative relationships with clients, and partnerships with builders and fabricators to create a harmonious blend of site, building, and community. With sustainable practices as a mainstay of our daily work, Alchemy utilizes recycling and reuse along with building strategies that reduce waste. Ou

r multidisciplinary team draws inspiration from art, literature, history, and leading creative thinkers to create alternative and atypical project solutions. Alchemy's designs utilize efficient building methods including updated building science principles and innovative materials whenever possible. Our weeHouse® system and farm-tech projects have gained national + international recognition. Each Alchemy project exemplifies our dedication to limiting waste and maximizing the impact of our efforts. We leverage the intimacy of our (typically) smaller footprints with a modern aesthetic by efficiently using space, technology, and good environmental stewardship. By combining low-tech passive solar principals with the high-tech renewable energy technologies, we continue to develop work that is functional and efficient. Our goal is to make meaningful, engaging, and efficient design accessible.

AIA Minnesota is on the move, and we’re helping to reimagine a 750 SF space in Riverplace through reuse, upcycling, and ...
04/01/2026

AIA Minnesota is on the move, and we’re helping to reimagine a 750 SF space in Riverplace through reuse, upcycling, and the joy of architecture

— and we invite you to participate!

In collaboration with RJM Construction, AIA-MN, and the community, we’re working to build a low-carbon, high-impact design.

To make this vision a reality, we are calling on our entire community to help us source salvaged materials—ranging from screening and cabinetry to lighting and flooring—that can be transformed into beautiful, functional design elements.

You are invited to share your suggested materials and ideas with us, and we hope that you’ll join us for a virtual orientation and information session on Thursday, April 2nd at 12:00pm (TOMORROW!).

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Pc2Xb9rMSm-Fg2MDwISe2Q #/registration

Built for the intensity of Northern Minnesota’s climate, the Lutsen weeHouse stays warm through winter and cool in the s...
03/19/2026

Built for the intensity of Northern Minnesota’s climate, the Lutsen weeHouse stays warm through winter and cool in the summer, with fixtures and finishes chosen for lasting quality and durability.

This modular weeHouse, prefabricated largely offsite, sits on Spider Lake near Hayward, WI. Three boxes are both modern ...
02/26/2026

This modular weeHouse, prefabricated largely offsite, sits on Spider Lake near Hayward, WI. Three boxes are both modern and rustic, nicely crafted, and Of The Woods. A small log cabin was originally on the property, and situated too close to the water for an addition to be allowed. The logs were carefully removed and repurposed to clad the new home’s exterior - holding on to the history and materials of the property.

Natural oil finished flooring, metallic silver paint, and hot rolled steel are used to accentuate the different spaces inside. Upstairs are there bedrooms: two intimate cubbies with bunks or queens, and a larger primary bedroom.

Black hot rolled steel grounds the fireplace and contrasts with the clean white kitchen. The expansive interior defies the homes actual 1500 sf, size making it more intimate, more affordable, and more sustainable.

Details, details, details!Design that transcends the ordinary and champions the tactile, the unique, and the personal. W...
02/19/2026

Details, details, details!

Design that transcends the ordinary and champions the tactile, the unique, and the personal. We’re sharing some things we pay attention to from a couple of projects we love:

1 Bridge
2 Key Shelf / Lightswitch
3 Stair
4 Towel hooks
5 Hot rolled steel door
6 Charger station

Today, news that the U.S. government is aggressively deregulating the EPA, repealing the legal foundation for a large se...
02/12/2026

Today, news that the U.S. government is aggressively deregulating the EPA, repealing the legal foundation for a large set of climate rules, at a time when the effects of climate change are more apparent than ever.

Also today: photos from a project we’re wrapping up in Scandia, Minnesota, prioritizing energy efficiency with a 15” thick cellulose-filled wall system, robust triple-glazed tilt-turn windows, and low-carbon materials throughout.

Policies may change, but we’re going to continue to work as we always have, focusing our output on the essential and making space for what matters— the places, people, and experiences that inspire our work.

Amazing visit Friday. Where did we go? This detail is a hint.
11/23/2025

Amazing visit Friday. Where did we go?
This detail is a hint.

A weeHouse for sale in Santa Rosa!The weeHouse was built for Suzanne and Angelica - best friends whose husbands had pass...
11/21/2025

A weeHouse for sale in Santa Rosa!

The weeHouse was built for Suzanne and Angelica - best friends whose husbands had passed away - to age in place together.
There are two bedrooms with en-suite baths, and in between, an almost monastic wee space for a future caretaker, guest(s), or study.
A fire replacement house, it was prefabricated offsite with generous glazing connecting the landscape and the weathering steel siding to the western white pine core inside.

if you’re interested in checking it out for yourself, there will be an open house this weekend.

The address is 2759 Bennett Ridge Road in Santa Rosa, CA, and the open house will be taking place on November 22nd and 23rd from 2-4 pm.

Credits:
Fidelity Builders (modular fabricator, OR)
McIntosh Builders Santa Rosa (site work)
Ed Caldwell (photos)

A weeHouse for sale in Santa Rosa!The weeHouse was built for Suzanne and Angelica - best friends whose husbands had pass...
11/21/2025

A weeHouse for sale in Santa Rosa!

The weeHouse was built for Suzanne and Angelica - best friends whose husbands had passed away - to age in place together.
There are two bedrooms with en-suite baths, and in between, an almost monastic wee space for a future caretaker, guest(s), or study.
A fire replacement house, it was prefabricated offsite with generous glazing connecting the landscape and the weathering steel siding to the western white pine core inside.

if you’re interested in checking it out for yourself, there will be an open house this weekend.

The address is 2759 Bennett Ridge Road in Santa Rosa, CA, and the open house will be taking place on November 22nd and 23rd from 2-4 pm.

Our second home in the Marfa desert: Skyfall weeHouse. In just 1250 sf, the home Lives Large, growing from the sweeping ...
10/23/2025

Our second home in the Marfa desert: Skyfall weeHouse. In just 1250 sf, the home Lives Large, growing from the sweeping desert landscape.

Inspired by the legacy of Donald Judd, two minimalist boxes are corralled by an elegant rammed earth wall. The small courtyard between them harbors a shade tree.
The weathering steel box at grade is oriented toward Chinati Peak and houses a utility bath core, kitchen, dining space, and a living room with a guest nook. (Photos are before the south side shade pergola was put in.)

The small black yakisuki wooden box is raised on a plinth with a bedroom-bath focused on the buttes to the east.

An outdoor shower and a concealed shed provide space for future pool infrastructure.

A second weeHouse for the first weeHouse owner.In 2003, Stephanie Arado commissioned Geoffrey Warner to build a tiny pre...
10/08/2025

A second weeHouse for the first weeHouse owner.

In 2003, Stephanie Arado commissioned Geoffrey Warner to build a tiny prefab cabin on a piece of land in Pepin, WI. Alchemy designed (and built!) the prefabricated box, and the weeHouse was born.

Twenty years later, Stephanie came to us again, to build an even more efficient, even greener weeHouse, but this time, with a bathroom. Twice as big as the first Arado weeHouse, it is still only 700 sq ft. Finishes and fixtures crafted with minimalist intent, emphasizing quality and durability within the intense Northwoods Minnesota climate.

Got weekend plans? Wanna tour a weeHouse in Minneapolis? The Linden Hills weeHouse will be on this year’s Homes by Archi...
09/25/2025

Got weekend plans? Wanna tour a weeHouse in Minneapolis? The Linden Hills weeHouse will be on this year’s Homes by Architects Tour on Saturday, September 27th and Sunday, September 28th. Wee hope to see you there!

Snag tickets online at homesbyarchitects.org or head over to the link in our bio.

Address

856 Raymond Avenue, Studio G
Saint Paul, MN
55114

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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