profile

Kaas Wilson Architects has established itself in the Twin Cities as a leading design firm of specialty housing projects especially those focused on places and spaces for frail adults. Kaas Wilson has also emerged as an innovator of creative commercial projects. Our reputation for high quality work and cost-effectiveness keeps clients coming back for more while word-of-mouth referrals draw in new business. While we keep our regular expenses low, we invest in cutting-edge design software and the fastest computers to increase our productivity. To add value and streamline project marketing for our clients, we now offer additional services such as web and graphic design.

An architect’s role is more than drawings plans and elevations; it is to take a client’s ideas and deliver their message to a variety of audiences. These audiences include finance agencies and builders who are an integral part of making a client’s dream a reality. We also proactively establish good communication and working relationships with neighborhoods, planners, and city board members. This preparation helps us avoid subsequent delay and makes it possible to find a solution that works for everyone.

Aging in Place

Kaas Wilson Architects has expertise designing environments for seniors and individuals with special needs. We continue to evolve the Continuing Care Retirement Community model by incorporating better and better memory care wings and amenities such as intergenerational daycares, cooking demonstration areas, theaters, cafes, beauty salons, and fitness and wellness centers, in addition to restaurant-like dining facilities and community rooms worthy of a club. These amenity spaces are also designed with future flexibility to meet the savvy demands of the next generation of seniors.

We strive to deepen our understanding of the physical and environmental needs of the aging body and we look for opportunities to share this depth of knowledge with the greater community. Our team members have volunteered in nursing homes, sponsored booths at community remodeling fairs, and lead workshops and lectures for baby-boomers and seniors regarding Aging in Place. These opportunities for direct discussion with seniors, and those who care for them, help fuel innovation toward person-centered care in our projects.

As architects, we synthesize a myriad of elements to create a home. We orchestrate issues such as ceiling heights, window locations, day lighting, lighting fixture selection, and color and finish selection to provide adequate light levels for the aging eye and to control potential sources of glare. To optimize the health and well being of the people that live and work in these spaces, we take a whole-systems approach to design from the beginning, utilizing sustainable design principles, and a deep understanding of mechanical and electrical systems in all of our projects. We bring together architecture and technology solutions that allow staff to spend as much time with residents as possible, as this is what person-centered care is really about. Kaas Wilson Architects has a reputation for understanding all the needs of those for whom we design, while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Sustainability

Buildings that enhance human lives should not do so at the expense of the larger world around us—our air, land, waterways, or other natural resources. Kaas Wilson Architects strives to incorporate sustainable (green) strategies in ALL of our work. We know green design is more than putting photovoltaic panels on a roof or specifying recycled products. Our LEED experience allows us to offer sustainable design solutions that create healthy environments inside and minimize impacts on our environment outside. Our Inver Glen Senior Living project was the first LEED-certified senior housing project in Minnesota.

Teamwork

Architecture is a collaborative profession so our casual studio-like office environment is designed to facilitate better teamwork and a stronger focus on the projects. We work together in a shared studio space with minimal separation to maximize team communication and productivity. The office is dog-friendly, and we find that having our pets around helps boost morale.