Art and Nature Take Center Stage in This Aspen Residence

The isolated 6-acre site straddles an aspen grove and forests of evergreens and Gambel oaks. The clients envisioned a modern house that would honor the setting and display their collection, including works by Alexander Calder, Sol LeWitt, and Robert Rauschenberg. CCY conceived two volumes of weathered steel and board-formed concrete connected by a glass-walled corridor. The two-story main house—with the primary bedroom, living areas, and downstairs rec room—sits at the front of the site; a single-story guest wing is in the back. The layout “allows nature to bleed through the house,” Klumb says, and ensures that the 10,750-square-foot, five-bedroom property feels comfortable for either two or 16 people.

The only downside of the location was that it faced north—ideal for hanging paintings, but not for creating a bright vacation home. CCY designed winged roofs with south-facing clerestory windows to capture a little light. For the pool and terrace, the team calculated which spot got the most sun, paradoxically installing them on the north side of the house.

For interiors, CCY collaborated with Interior Design Hall of Fame member and the eponymous founding partner of David Kleinberg Design Associates, who had worked with the couple on two other homes. They selected a limited, neutral palette of black porcelain-tile flooring and white-oak ceilings and millwork; triple-pane full-height windows provide panoramic valley views and close-ups of the woods. “There’s always an event at the end of a room, where your eye is either directed at an art wall or a window wall,” Kleinberg says.