BauLinder Haus is located just a couple of houses away from a landmark Kansas City area home designed by Bauhaus architect, Marcel Breuer. BauLinder Haus was inspired by the modernist details of its prevalent neighbor. Details like vertically oriented wood siding, straight-forward forms, and overhanging masses were motivated by this modernist aesthetic. The house’s simple form was conceptualized as a series of stacked boxes, with public spaces residing on the ground level and private spaces in the boxes above. In plan, the boxes are oriented in a u-shape configuration to create a generous private courtyard which was designed as an extension of the interior living space, blurring the boundaries between indoors and out.

Floor-to-ceiling south facing windows in the courtyard are shaded by the overhanging second floor above to prohibit solar heat gain, but allow for passive solar heating in the winter. Other sustainable elements of the home include a geothermal heat pump HVAC system, energy efficient windows and sprayed foam insulation. The exterior wood is a vertical shiplap siding milled from FSC certified Machiche. BauLinder Haus was designed to meet and exceed requirements put forward by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their Indoor airPLUS qualified homes, and is working toward Energy Star qualification.