SITTING QUIETLY
“The best designers are great listeners. Jeff distilled our ideas into a single overall building form that not only sits quietly in the landscape but actually allows the landscape to flow over and through the building.”
– Laurie Reed
Fish Creek Falls Area
Laurie and Dave Reed were committed to building a house with a sustainable carbon footprint for their family of four. In the process, they collaborated with us to design an environmentally responsible home built with efficiencies throughout. It is a haven of elegant design and sustainability that sits quietly upon the land.
Laurie is architecturally trained and provided not only the inspiration for her home’s spatial arrangement, but also guidance in the meticulous interior and finish detailing. Together, we created a purposeful, unambiguous architectural style that is both warm and visually intriguing.
Modern, low-pitched living roofs cascade with the natural topography. Their terraced construction elevates the landscaping, offering intimate views of surprise and delight from each room and providing a connective fabric between the private master bedroom and the gabled communal living space.
On the exterior, reclaimed mixed hardwood siding makes a subtle counterpoint to the rough texture of natural stone on the chimney and garage. The web of succulent sedum growing on the living roof further softens the union of wood and stone.
Reflecting a long history and strong character, pylons repurposed from a railroad bridge that once crossed the Great Salt Lake create the home’s exposed structural timber frame. A delicate wall of glass reveals mountainous views of the Flattops Wilderness to the west, while the structural timbers emerge just far enough to stave off any harsh afternoon sun in the main living spaces.
Continuing to minimize their footprint, the Reeds went beyond just using reclaimed woods and insulation. Photovoltaic panels line the southern roof of the main gable, gathering the sun’s energy to supply their electricity. Both solar thermal and geo-exchange energy are provided for in the house’s high-tech mechanical infrastructure. When brought on-line, the house has been engineered to be “Net-Zero,” which means it would create all the energy it consumes over the course of a year.
Sleek modern finishes of glass tile, exposed steel and modern casework elegantly round out the Reeds’ diverse architectural preferences. The smart modern edge adds a clean contrast to surrounding rustic wood textures and natural Colorado fieldstone.