Inspired by Colorado mines - 1991-1992 Western Home Awards

Sunset, Oct, 1991

THE VERNACULAR forms of Colorado mining and ranch buildings inspired this 5,700-square-foot house in Telluride, designed as a ski lodge and year-round family retreat.

Access to the main house is through a tower and spanning bridge similar to tipple structures that were used in Telluride's mining heyday to deliver silver ore from processing plants to railroad cars below. "This is clearly a Colorado house," commented juror Simon.

The lower building includes two garages that flank a formal entry. From the entry, a graceful stair spirals within its own tower to a bridge that connects with the main living level of the house.

This main level consists of a large living-dining room, a kitchen, and a game room. The steeply pitched roof is impervious to ice damming and partially shelters a south-facing terrace that extends beyond the game room atop a stone plinth. Within the massive plinth are four bedrooms, a bunk room, and five bathrooms for guests, as well as a sauna. Finally, the master suite occupies the entire top floor, isolated from the rest of the house.

Built to last 150 years, the house is clad in weathered wood, designed-to-rust steel, and stone that will look even better with the passage of time.

Evaluating the house, Ehrlich remarked, "The interpretation of the mining vernacular is something fresh and contemporary."