In a clearing on a hillside in Aspen, the Perch makes for a rarefied mountain retreat, a personal project by the founders of Studio B Architecture, the Colorado based firm. Taking on a renovation project, the duo’s design transformed the original 1968 mid-century residence into a light-filled home whose character shifts with the region’s dramatic seasons.
Though the renovation was all encompassing, the bones of the modest house remain, the architects a model of restraint when it came to maintaining the minimalist nature of the structure. Floor-to-ceiling windows were added on both sides of the home, flooding the interior with natural light that tracks across internal spaces as the sun moves throughout the day. During summer and autumn, the house feels like a treehouse, the canopy of green and gold leaves offering gorgeous colors and a heightened degree of privacy. In spring and winter, what the home loses in privacy as the leaves drop, it gains in the distant mountain views that emerge as the forest’s trees bare all.
Turning the attention inside, the owners’ collection of modern and tribal art collected from their global adventures decorates the interior, adding intrigue to interior spaces styled with neutral walls and hardwood floors. From the street, the house projects a nondescript facade, concealing its personality until visitors enter and move past its drive, when gradually it reveals glimpses of the light-filled interior and the seemingly endless forested landscape beyond. on the opposite side to the road, a hidden cantilevered rear terrace provides the ideal spot to take in the views, this tranquil outdoor area capturing the project’s delicate balance of privacy and connection to the alpine environment.
Photography © James Florio