REFUGE HOUSE

Set in the majestic Rocky Mountains above Boulder Colorado. Refuge House is meant to be a retreat from the stress of life. The home is designed to serve a couple and their guests. The intent of the design was to blend into the surrounding landscape through minimal design, simple massing and a sleek black aesthetic. The mountains are the focus; the home and its residents are simply meant to enjoy it. The homes 2600 square feet are acutely defined by the residents wing and a guest wing. The residents wing consists of a grand living room + kitchen, as well as beautiful primary suite. The guest wing consists of a guest bedroom, bathroom and media room. The garage entrance is also apart of the guest wing. The two masses are connected by a central breezeway which provides a stunning main entrance allowing immediate views of the mountains beyond.

The public spaces of the home are primarily oriented to the west, thereby offering these spaces the best views of the majestic Colorado Rocky Mountains. Meanwhile the service spaces are constricted to the central areas of the home, or the the northeast where the views of a lessor priority. The private spaces of the home are strategically oriented and located to maximize privacy and sleep/view preferences. In this case, the client enjoys early mornings and taking in the sunrise views to the east. Contrastingly, the guest bedroom is offered views of the sunset to the west. The distance between the bedrooms intentionally provides maximum privacy between the bedrooms and serves to allow the two "wings" of the home to be designated as primary and guest wings.

The Refuge House was designed using Passive House principles for orientation and construction assemblies. As a result the the long axis of the home runs east-west, allowing optimized solar exposure to the south. The rooftop solar array is ideally oriented to maximize energy production year round. Meanwhile, great care was taken to ensure the south and west oriented glazing is appropriately shaded to ensure excessive solar gains do not overwhelm the home during the summer months. In addition, all building assemblies have been designed to offer exceptional thermal comfort with high R-values and no thermal bridging. This combined with the high efficiency glazing will ensure the home is both extremely comfortable and energy efficient.