Architect Christon Kellogg and artist Helen Kaar are opening their net-zero house and expansive new native plant garden to the public on Saturday, July 12, from 1 to 4 pm. Tickets for “In Tune With Nature,” a limited-capacity tour, cost $20. The house tour portion is approximately 45 minutes, with timed entry on the hour.

BUY TICKETS & learn more here.

Visitors touring both the interior and the exterior will see how Kellogg sculpted the land around the house, creating sight lines that direct the eye to natural elements, tucking Kaar’s studio next to a verdant slope and sheltering the front yard behind unstructured hedges.

All funds will be used to further the Madison Environmental Commission’s habitat restoration projects, including expanding the Native Shrub Habitat at Gibbons Pines Park and adding needed plantings to the Madison Recreation Complex’s 20-acre conservation forest.

“We’re thrilled that Helen and Chris are sharing their home as a fundraiser,” says Claire Whitcomb, Environmental Commission chair. “Their house is truly one of Madison’s crown jewels. Not only is it designed by Chris—an architect noted for his artful, energy-efficient buildings—it’s in tune with nature at every turn, and with every vista.”

“Helen and I designed our house, which we call Half Moon House, around our artwork, collections, and studio spaces,” said Kellogg. 

In her studio, Kaar creates fiber art, painting, and graphic design. In his studio, Kellogg creates architecture that both shelters and celebrates the everyday activities of living. Citing Frank Lloyd Wright as an influence, his buildings reach out to and pull in the surrounding landscapes. And each project seeks to reduce energy consumption through net zero and energy efficiency. 

Half Moon House is sited to maximize capture of the sun’s power and warmth, and features numerous nature-savvy elements: triple-glazed windows, solar panels, radiant floors, ground-source heat pumps (geothermal), rainwater capture, and much more.

Visitors touring both the interior and the exterior will see how Kellogg sculpted the land around the house, creating sight lines that direct the eye to natural elements, tucking Kaar’s studio next to a verdant slope and sheltering the front yard behind unstructured hedges.

Since 2024, the front yard has been converted to a 1,000-square-foot secret garden, lush with native plants. 

“We worked with designer Susan Manna of Artistic Landscaping because neither of us knew all that much about native plants or creating a meadow,” says Kellogg. “The garden has grown in so beautifully, and we love watching it, whether through the windows or up close in the yard. Butterflies and bees love it—the surge in biodiversity is stunning.”

“In Tune with Nature” will be held rain or shine. Location information will be sent to registered attendees via email following ticket purchase.