lines on castle creek
This home designed by Hugh Newell Jacobsen sits high above Castle Creek on a 20-acre site with extraordinary views of the adjacent Conundrum Valley. However, the landscape was never completed and the site was left severely disturbed and functionally compromised. Bluegreen collaborated with the new owners and their team to restore the landscape while creating a series of outdoor spaces for this active family. Rooting the architecture to the landscape was also a goal and this was achieved through the extension of architectural lines and the repetition of architectural materials. Walls clad in limestone and floors of bluestone are carried from the residence's interior out to the exterior, much of the materials being re-purposed from those already on site. Stainless steel is used as a punctuation element with solid panels of stainless steel or stainless perforated screens. Water is introduced into a reflecting pool within an intimate courtyard via a stainless steel scupper.
Since the site had been severely disturbed, the owners were sensitive to additional impact and strongly desired to return the site back to its inherent natural beauty. The outdoor rooms are kept immediately adjacent to the residence and this organization allowed the team to restore the larger disturbance to an aspen grove and native grass and wildflower meadow. When native and alpine hardy plantings appear in the outdoor rooms they reinforce the architectural form. Stainless steel is used to wrap unattractive existing retaining walls, whose replacement would have caused slope failure and further loss of trees. This design collaboration ultimately creates a landscape that is refined in its aesthetic and responsible in its site stewardship.This project is featured in the Fall 2014 issue of Garden Design magazine. It was awarded a 2013 Honor Award from the Colorado Chapter of the ASLA and a 2015 Architizer A+ Private Garden Finalist Award.
project type: landscape architecture
location: pitkin county, colorado
client: withheld by request
photo credit: marion brenner, jason dewey