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Telluride House



                                                                                Telluride, United States



                                                                  fficiency Lab for Architecture PLLC, a firm comprising a team
                                                                  of architects, planners, designers, and educators committed to
                                                            Ea better understanding of efficiency in the built environment,
                                                             is proud to unveil the Telluride Glass House, nestled into the steep
                                                             cliffs of the Telluride Box Canyon in Colorado. Carved into a vertical
                                                             wall of Aspen trees, rock cliffs, and wandering creeks, on a 3.4-acre
                                                             lot adjacent to the majestic  Bridal Falls, the house consists of three
                                                             cascading glass boxes with a combined floor area of approximately
                                                             7,000 sq. ft.

                                                             “Every architect dreams about building the proverbial glass house,”
                                                             notes Aybars Asci, AIA, LEED, President of Efficiency Lab. “It’s
                                                             a spatial construct that heightens our senses and allows us to
                                                             contemplate our natural surroundings with greater focus and
                                                             appreciation than we otherwise would.”

                                                             Simple Complexity
                                                             Accordingly, when the client approached Efficiency Lab about the
                                                             desire  to  build  a  glasshouse,  Asci  presented  an  open  plan  vision,
                                                             defined  by  fluidity,  that  would  blur  the  boundaries  between  the
                                                             landscape and the proposed building environment. The plan focused
                                                             on the architectural expression of three cantilevered glass boxes.
                                                             Each 45’ × 45’ glass box is positioned in a moment of suspension,
                                                             providing a horizontal approach to the vertical terrain of towering
                                                             Aspens rising from the surrounding mountains and cliffs.
                                                             “I came up with the idea of creating something breathtaking in just a
                                                             few weeks, but it took years of careful refinements to bring the vision
                                                             to life,” Aybars Asci explains. “While the general concept was quite
                                                             simple, the project was a reminder that sometimes complexity is the
                                                             path to achieving such levels of simplicity.”

                                                             The steep terrain of the mountainside played a major role in
                                                             the architectural design, beginning with rockfall and avalanche
                                                             mitigation elements. The dual hazard conditions required the
                                                             construction of avalanche and debris flow barriers on the uphill side,
                                                             while a permanent soil retention system, including anchors tied into
                                                             the mountainside, created level platforms for the house.

                                                             Achieving a Delicate Balance
                                                             The three cascading pavilions are cantilevered and stacked in
                                                             recession. Their composite steel and timber floor framing provides a
                                                             tectonic lightness of the glass boxes that reinforces their anchoring to
                                                             the stereotomic mass of the retaining walls. Abundant use of natural
                                                             finishes further contributes to the integration of the built environment
                                                             and its natural surroundings, including split-face marble brick, with
                                                             exposed natural patterns, that finishes the exterior retaining walls.

                                                             “There is a sort of symbiotic relationship, where the cantilevers create
                                                             a delicate connection between the light-footed house and the majestic
                                                             mountain,” says Asci. “The retaining walls merge into the slopes and
                                                             integrate with the mountain, while the pavilions, suspended in space,
                                                             create a counterpoint of lightness.”






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