Riverwest couple built their modern home with a green roof to fit into the neighborhood

When Juli Kaufmann and Mike Maschek built their contemporary-style home in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, their main goal was to minimize the environmental impact as much as possible.

To accomplish this they added a green roof and solar panels, but did not add a basement. Inside they used zoned heating and cooling, a wood burning stove, installed kitchen and bathroom cabinets made of plywood, used low-flow bathroom and kitchen fixtures, and on the second floor they used reclaimed maple flooring from an area school gym.

“I think generally speaking we didn’t ever spend on those things that tend to be showy. We wanted things that were functional and things that helped the environment,” Kaufmann said.

It was also important to them that their 1,500-square-foot home fit into their neighborhood, which is made up of mostly 1930s-era houses.

“We wanted it to exist quietly on the street, meaning we didn’t want it to be showy. And we wanted it to be appropriate in size and scale and to have natural materials. I would credit our architect, Patrick Jones of Ramsey Jones Architects, who is a neighbor in Riverwest, for helping us to realize our vision,” she said.

“People don’t necessarily notice our home,” Maschek added. “It blends in well. We also didn’t want to disrupt our neighbors who have been here forever. We didn’t want to do something that disrupted their sense of peace and tranquility in their own homes.”

They met both these goals, then also added gardens that would complement their home and attract pollinators.

“It’s more of a Riverwest look. It’s certainly a contemporary look, but it’s not like it’s all monochromatic grasses. … I think the theme is native plantings,” Kaufmann said.

“We have less showy flowers, and we have more foliage. There’s a lot of purple and white.

“We used native perennials and other plants. It’s a hodgepodge,” she said, noting there's a peach, pear and plum tree in the long, narrow side yard which is 10 to 14 feed wide and 110 feet long, she said.

“Sometimes I try to get a non purple plant in there but it doesn’t make it to the next season,” Maschek said.

“I veto it,” Kaufmann said. “I don’t like too many colors that aren’t calming. Purple is calming for me.”

Kaufman is president of Fix Development, a commercial real estate firm, and Maschek works at Inception health, the innovation arm of Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin.

She said they bought the vacant lot in Riverwest on which they built their 1,500-square-foot home in 2018 and used area businesses in its construction whenever possible.

“Working with craftsmen in Milwaukee was an important investment for us. We value their work. We worked collaboratively with these artists. I feel we paid a quality wage to people who gave us a quality product,” she said.

When they selected products for their home they also bought mainly high-quality products and locally when possible.

“We don’t have a lot, but we invested in things that were made well. We made intentional choices. Not everything is custom. Some pieces might be Kohler, some from Ikea. Where we could, we used elements that really celebrated the crafts and talents of our local artists. That was really important to us,” Kaufmann said.

She said their home was built with Cor-Ten steel, along with two types of wood cladding in shades of brown.

“The steel is a rust color because it oxidizes as soon as it’s exposed to the environment. You never have to do anything to it; you never have to paint it. The woods have protective stains on them,” she said.

The green roof is over the front and back portions of the first floor along with the attached garage. The solar panels are on the second-floor roof.

“We wanted a green roof because we wanted as many choices as possible to minimize the environmental impact. It helps to lower the heating bill in our home; it also attracts beneficial insects and birds, and it’s beautiful,” Kaufmann said.

“It also soaks up all the rain water so it doesn’t get into the sewer,” Maschek added.

Their gardens, but not their home, will be open to the public in this year's Riverwest Secret Garden Tour on July 9.

They recently talked about their home and garden.

Who does the gardening?

Maschek: We are both the gardeners but in different ways. Juli is more the visionary. She does things like picking out the plants. I’m more the manual laborer. I like pulling out the weeds and moving all the soil.

Kaufmann: I would say it’s therapeutic for both of us. It’s important for our mental health to spend time in our gardens.

Where are your gardens located?

Maschek: We have a front garden where there are some raised beds made from concrete forms that have a stamped concrete pattern on them. We also have the long garden to the south, plantings on the second floor patio, and the green roofs.

What kind of bricks did you use in your side yard?

Kaufmann: We used reclaimed street pavers. We also had them put on the approach to our garage.

How big is your patio and what’s on it?

Maschek: It’s about 20-by-20 feet and it overlooks the back portion of the green roof. We have patio furniture there, some beds for growing food, and pots for plants.

Do you have great views from your patio?

Kaufmann: On the Fourth of July we can see the fireworks from eight different communities. We also see beautiful moonrises at night.

Maschek: The sunset is just spectacular, and we have really good views to the west.

Do the colors of your green roof change with the seasons?

Kaufmann: In spring it’s the most vibrant green, and in summer it’s a deeper green, and then the flowers come out. Then in fall it’s a crimson color. It’s so beautiful. It’s quite beautiful in winter too because it’s still a living plant.

What products are used to install a green roof?

Kaufmann: There is a growing medium, a root barrier and a waterproof membrane.

What plants grow on your green roof?

Kaufmann: It’s sedum mix and it comes in rolls. The smaller varieties of sedum are used.

How do you care for your green roof?

Maschek: You don’t ever have to water it. We didn’t ever water it when we had the drought conditions in early June. You just have to weed it once in a while. You just walk out on it to weed it. And every few years fertilizer is called for.

Kaufmann: When we are sitting on the patio with a glass of wine we’ll think, ‘Someone should go pick that dandelion.’

How is your home laid out?

Maschek: The first level has the combined living room and kitchen. There’s also an office, a second bedroom and a bathroom. The second floor has the main bedroom and bathroom with a sauna, the rooftop patio and a laundry closet.

What kind of countertops do you have?

Kaufmann: They’re dyed concrete. We went for affordability and sustainability. There’s a black dye in it to darken the concrete. It’s also coated. It’s custom. In my industry, I have a lot of colleagues I know who participated in elements of the house to make it special.

Why did you choose to use plywood cabinets?

Kaufmann: They are a better choice environmentally. They are made primarily of wood waste that’s pressed together. Formaldehyde isn’t used to make them like in other cabinets, so it’s a more natural choice. A very thin maple veneer layer is over the top.

What kind of oven do you have?

Kaufmann: We have an electric oven with an induction stove top, and a convection oven. We use all electrical appliances because we want to maximize the electrical draw because we have the solar panels. We predominately depend on renewable energy sources.

Why did you not add a basement?

Kaufmann: The primary reason is that they are inefficient. They are expensive and generally unhealthy spaces. Also because we built on a preexisting lot, there were a lot of old foundation materials under here and we didn’t want to excavate and deal with that.

What are some of the other unique elements in your home?

Kaufmann: Our stairway railing was custom made locally with forged metal, and we have barn doors and some walls that were burned until the surface was charred using an old Japanese method to preserve wood called shou sugi ban. The floor in the open-concept kitchen and living room is also concrete with an aggregate in it. The floor was ground down so you can see the different colors of the aggregate.

How does your heating system work?

Maschek: It’s like a window AC but it’s centralized. You can turn it on in each room. By targeting the heating and cooling, it’s much more efficient. We also have in-floor radiant heating that is zoned. We can dial in our heating in winter for both systems.

Why did you decide to build in Riverwest?

Kaufmann: I really believe in urban dwelling. It’s more sustainable to live in dense communities. I also love that Riverwest is very diverse. It has everything we could want. We’re a half block from a coffee shop, from a co-op, a brewery, and restaurants if I don’t want to cook. Also our neighbors are all unique and interesting.

Maschek: I would say another key thing is the Oak Leaf Trail, the (Milwaukee River) Greenway trail, and Gordon Park are all close by. We are constantly spending time hiking, biking and running in those areas.

What styles of homes did you live in before you built here?

Kaufmann: Before we were married we both always lived in contemporary homes.

What’s your favorite space?

Kaufmann: I adore every part of the house. I love the front porch, I love the upper deck, and the fireplace in the living room. But the patio overlooking the green roof is my favorite spot if I really had to pick.

Maschek: The front porch. It’s covered and we have pots on the porch.  I love to sit out here with a cup of coffee and just watch the people of Riverwest make their way by the house.

Any projects yet to do?

Maschek: Next year we will put raised beds in the back where we have a parking slab. We only have the one car so we are going to get rid of that pad and replace it with raised beds. We will grow lettuce, kale, peppers, cucumbers, cilantro and other herbs.

Did you do any of the work on your home yourselves?

Kaufman: I have owned a residential construction company so I was actively involved in building the home, but we didn’t do any of the labor.

Maschek: But we did do a lot of labor in the garden

If you go

What: The Riverwest Secret Garden Tour is a self-guided tour of more than 15 gardens in the Riverwest neighborhood with gardeners on hand to answer questions.

When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 9.

Tickets/maps: $5 the day of the tour at Garden Park at the corner of Locust and Bremen

More information: See riverwestsecretgardentour.com or call (414) 562-9025

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Riverwest couple built their modern home to fit into the neighborhood