Sitting almost 10,000 feet above sea level on a steep slope in Telluride, Colorado, a vacation home withstands extreme weather: deep snows and blazing sunshine. Cambridge, Massachusetts–based Anmahian Winton Architects wanted to take advantage of the dramatic site while minimizing the adverse effects of the climate. “A lot of our effort was intended to dig the house in and keep it low profile,” says principal in charge Nick Winton, who collaborated with architect Karen Swett and landscape architect Michael Boucher.
The 8,000-square-foot steel-and-wood-frame structure will eventually become the clients' full-time residence, while serving as a hub for relatives. The architects developed a roughly L-shaped plan with connected rectangular volumes that read as separate pavilions and offer opportunities for privacy.
Colorado buff-limestone walls frame a depressed entry courtyard and provide a perch for the second story. The extended horizontal massing recalls houses by Frank Lloyd Wright, and, as Winton notes, the stone walls echo the scale and mortar detail of those found in old Telluride. On the entry floor, a kitchen and dining room have panoramic views, while the living room looks down the slope. A master suite is set apart from the rest of the house, with a connection on the entry level. Each main room has a relationship to the outdoors, says Winton, and what he calls a “micro-courtyard.”
The other rich, natural materials follow the logic of the limestone walls: They're durable, low maintenance, and textured. Copper and steel plate clad the facade. Oak reclaimed from a barn serves as a fully ventilated rainscreen and a real screen in front of some windows. “The owners were inclined to make high-quality choices about materials and sustainability. And they did,” says Winton.
Completion Date: September 2010
Gross Square Footage: 8,000 square feet
PeopleOwner: Withheld
Completion date: September 2010
Gross square footage: 8,000 sf
Architect: Anmahian Winton Architects
Engineers: Structural Engineer: MEP: Civil/Geotech:
Consultants: Landscape: Lighting:
General contractor: Fortenberry Construction Company
Photographer: Tim Hursley and Jane Messinger
CAD system, project management, Vectorworks Architect |
ProductsStructural system: Concrete foundation walls, Steel frame with TJIs Exterior cladding: Masonry: Veneer stone Metal Panels: ¼' th. Steel Plates on discontinuous stl clips, Flat Lock Seam Copper Rainscreen: Wood: Moisture barrier: Roofing Built-up roofing Hydrotech Garden Roof Assembly Metal: Standing Seam copper roof Windows Wood frame: Point Five Windows Copper Clad Mahogany / Rift Sawn Oak Windows Doors Wood doors: Point Five Windows Copper Clad Mahogany / Rift Sawn Oak Doors Hardware Locksets: Brussart Custom Brass Lockset Interior finishes Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Shavano Woodworking Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore Solid surfacing: Caesarstone Floor and wall tile: Colorado Buff Sandstone, White Oak Resilient flooring: Linoleum tile Lighting Interior ambient lighting: : Tech Lighting MonoRail, Bocci Pendant Downlights: RSA Combolight CO Series, RSA Accurus MR16, Gotham Compact Fluorescent Downlight Exterior: BK Lighting, Bega recessed steplighting, Auroralight Meridian Step Light Dimming System or other lighting controls:Lutron LiteTouch Conveyance Elevators/Escalators: Waupaca Elevator Company Dumbwaiter Plumbing Haws Drinking Fountain Waterworks Cambridge Bathtub |
