Bagua House: Feng Shui Retreat in Aspen
As practiced in the west, feng shui – an ancient Chinese method designed to bring structures into harmony with their surroundings – draws typically on the bagua, a set of eight symbols representing interconnected aspects of existence. At R+B’s art-filled, appropriately named Bagua House, perched atop a steep slope and enjoying expansive Aspen views, feng shui is made manifest in both the U-shaped plan and the house’s relationship to the site. Most of the firm’s designs feature a transparency that connects rooms both internally and to the typically sublime surroundings. Bagua House is different: here, interior spaces connect through exterior rooms. This interleaving of inside and outside creates an exquisite sense of amplitude, one that is as much emotional as actual.rnrnThe heart of the experience is the residence’s landscaped entry court, which sits between the three wings of the plan: it serves as the definitive moment of transition, from the wider world to the private experience of the dwelling. Within, a double-height living/dining great room gives way to the more intimate scale of the two wings. To the south, R+B set the intercommunicating family room and kitchen; while the north wing contains the parents’ suite (with an exercise room/hot yoga studio that opens onto a 75-foot-long lap pool), and the children’s bedrooms (with their communal ‘kids corner’).rnrnThe modesty of the architecture contributes to the residence’s beauty and unity; set almost entirely on a single level (with a wine cellar and media room, and a habitable stair that serves as a library and art gallery, below), the spaces absorb the shifting character of the light as it transforms throughout the day. But it is the integration into the landscape – the positive flow of energy characteristic of the successful application of feng shui – that gives Bagua House its defining sense of serenity: a commingling of the built, the natural, and the human that feels at once comprehensive and sublime.
u003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eProject Completionu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003e2020u003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eProject Sizeu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003e8,250 SF (1.0 AC)u003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePublicationsu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003ch6u003eu003ca href=u0022https://a.co/d/gQLcNJ1u0022u003eDesigning Aspen The Houses of Rowland+Broughtonu003c/au003eu003c/h6u003ernu003ch6u003eu003ca href=u0022http://rowland.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Luxe_Bagua-Cover-Story-2020.pdfu0022u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLuxe Magazineu003c/spanu003eu003c/au003eu003c/h6u003ernu003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eR+B Servicesu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003culu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eArchitectureu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eInterior Architectureu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eRenderingsu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernu003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eCollaboratorsu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003culu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eInterior Designer: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eTerri Ricci Interiorsu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLandscape Architect: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLand Design 39u003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLighting Designer: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLEAXu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eStructural Engineer: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eKLu0026amp;Au003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eMEP Engineer: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eAECu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePhotographer: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLisa Romereinu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePhotographer: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eJoshua McHughu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eContractor: u003c/spanu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eSchlumberger Scherer Constructionu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003e