Prior to the Telluride Residence project in Colorado, I did not have much experience designing single-family residences. So I approached the design process much like the other cultural or mixed-use projects that I am familiar with - I considered how to best respond to the site, and how to make the best use of available space to optimize the views out of the building and the use of natural light within.
The client had already established a great working relationship with the office – as Mr. Gehry had designed the offices for the client’s advertising company in Los Angeles and New York City. For his winter vacation house, the client had purchased a piece of land located near the exclusive ski-resort of Telluride, complete with a panoramic view of the spectacular Wilson Peak in the distance.
At only about 3,500 square feet, the program for the house was relatively modest in comparison to other private residences in the area. The gently sloping site suggested that the massing of the house should also step down in alignment with the topography. The main living level was to be located in the middle, between the master-bedroom suite above and the children’s and guest bedrooms below.
The house was oriented diagonally across the terrain so that each room might enjoy an ‘exposed corner’. Instead of making windows with large expenses of glass, geometrically shaped openings were designed to frame the views of the surrounding landscape. The client’s study was articulated as an independent structure, connected to the lower level of the main house by a small enclosed foyer. A generous clearing in the back of the house allowed easy maneuvering space for the client’s SUV, even in severe snow conditions.
Our central challenge was how to create an architectural intervention in this beautiful landscape, without succumbing to the cliché of imitating the style of an ‘alpine chalet’. By re-interpreting the zoning code's requirements for a building with a pitched roof, we developed the profile of a house with a jagged roofline – somewhat echoing the surrounding snow-capped peaks. We intended the house to be finished with the blackened copper commonly used in the shrines in Japan, to create a contrast between the architecture and both the white winter snow and lush green summer vegetation.
I was well aware that the appearance of the house might convey a sense of discomfort for some of the client’s more architecturally conservative neighbors - although the client did at one point enthusiastically point out that the house’s organic architectural form reminded him of Telluride’s past as a coal mining town.
To my eyes, the house is more reminiscent of the scholar’s rocks in the traditional Chinese gardens. Unfortunately, during the design process the client realized that he preferred a more tropical lifestyle in the Caribbean – our Telluride project was cancelled. Maybe someday I will realize this design for myself ?
The projects in this section were designed and executed during my time at Gehry Partners LLP (the office). I am grateful to Mr. Gehry and the team at the office for their generosity and support over the years. All intellectual property rights of these projects continue to be owned by the office unless otherwise mentioned. The narrative texts on the projects are entirely personal, they do not represent the views or opinions of the office, its clients or any other third party or organization.