Lookout House Aspen: Contemporary Mountain Home
Lookout House, a grand dwelling enjoying sweeping views of Aspen’s Elk Mountains, occupies the footprint of the owners’ previous residence and is roughly the same size. But in its responses to the character of the location and the needs of the residents, Lookout House could not be more different from its predecessor.rnrnThe site overlooks a dramatically down-sloping meadow that, as it is densely forested on each side, remains invisible to the neighbors. Given the circumstances, we perceived two opportunities: to make the house a portal to the meadow, and to maximize the building’s visual engagement with its surroundings.rnrnRegarding the former, R+B chose to directly connect the north-facing entry façade to the house’s southern elevation, which overlooks the view. An axis beginning at the covered entry, and continuing through the overscaled pivoting front door, extends directly through the house to a pocketing glazed panel on the south facade, a window that opens onto a mountain-filled vista and, a few steps below on the deck, a copper spa pool.rnrnAs for the latter challenge—capturing the slope—we set the secondary rooms on the lower level and the primary spaces upstairs, where they enjoy views that, beginning far below at the bottom of the meadow and traveling up to the mountain peaks, are pleasurably commanding.rnrnUnusually for Aspen, a place in which the mountain-lodge vernacular predominates, the house’s sensibility is akin to the modernist grandeur of postwar urban architecture. Given the abundance of the owners’ contemporary art holdings, the choice remains entirely appropriate. If there is a dominant design motif, it is horizontality: Floating planes and layered plinths transform in function and character as they slip from space to space, defining rooms as discrete entities and uniting them into a single interlocking experience.rnrnVarious of the design’s qualities support an innovative way of enjoying a near-museum scale collection in a relaxed domestic setting. The first is a high level of visual connectivity from room to room and floor to floor. Lookout House is also made welcoming by the fluidity of its palette, which morphs from concrete to oak to limestone to leather as it flows from space to space, connecting to the house’s exterior materials and the natural world beyond. Above all the dwelling conveys an overwhelming sense of craft. ‘Everything in this house was custom-designed,’ Broughton observes. ‘Not only did we design the beds, we even made the pillows. It was an incredible opportunity.’
u003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eProject Completionu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003e2017u003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eProject Sizeu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003e8,700 SF (1.9 AC)u003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eProject Awardsu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003culu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003e2018 Colorado Homes u0026amp; Lifestyle – CARE Awardsu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003e2018 American Society of Interior Designers – Crystal Awardsu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernu003ch5u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePublicationsu003c/spanu003eu003c/h5u003ernu003ch6u003eu003ca href=u0022https://a.co/d/7fsAK8Ou0022u003eDesigning Aspen The Houses of Rowland+Broughtonu003c/au003eu003c/h6u003ernu003ch6u003eu003ca href=u0022https://rowland.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019-MarchApril_The-Lookout_reduced.pdfu0022u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLuxe interiors+designu003c/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 Designu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eFurniture Selection and Procurementu003c/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 Decorator: Manuel de Santarenu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLandscape Design: Busy Beavers Gardeningrnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLighting Designer: Robert Singer Associatesrnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eStructural Engineer: KLu0026amp;Arnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eMEP Engineer: Rader Engineeringrnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eCivil Engineer: Sopris Engineeringrnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePhotographer: Lisa Romereinrnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePhotographer: Brent Mossrnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePhotographer: Steve Mundingerrnu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ernu003ch6u003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eContractor: Brikor Associatesu003c/spanu003eu003c/h6u003ernu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003e