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Work of Art | Meadow House | Aspen, CO
Featured in the Winter/Spring issue of Aspen Sojourner magazine, our Meadow House project was designed to nestle into the site as seamlessly as possible. A nod to agrarian architecture in the area, its iconic gabled form gradually rises from a traditional symmetrical front to an open back, thereby allowing the home to gracefully transition into the undulating landscape and focus on ever changing mountain views.
To provide protection from the wind, especially during Colorado’s colder winter months, an L-shaped building plan allows family areas to capture and benefit from optimal solar gain.
Addressing the needs and lifestyle of the owners, the interior plan is primarily open, yet provides distinct spaces for gathering and more solitude activities. Throughout, clean white plaster walls provide a backdrop for custom ad curated furnishings, the owner’s contemporary art collection, and specially commissioned elements including a double-sided Haas Brothers fireplace.
Influenced by the organic palette of the surroundings, exterior materials deepen the home’s connection with the land. Bleached wood siding and gray-brown stone contrast with black metal-framed windows and semi-opaque, charred shou sugi ban wood screens that hide circulation between floors.
A defining element linking main and upper levels, an open stair riffs off and directly aligns with the exterior screen. Both the shell and core of the home were designed and engineered with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind.
“’We’re creating basically the biggest piece of sculpture someone will ever commission,’ says Broughton, who believes that designing a home is about helping people coalesce their past with a realization of their dreams. ‘It should bring them joy each and every day.’ When she wakes each morning and looks into the family room from bed, Wesner silently thanks Broughton for creating a home that brings her loved ones together. That’s everything an architect can ask for.”
-Excerpt from the article Work of Art, Aspen Sojourner
Photography by Lisa Romerein