design et al are delighted to announce the successful shortlist for RKD Architects for the Residential £1-2.5M Property Value Award.
Mountain property is a very special gift. Waterstone, a custom home in Edwards, Colorado expresses the belief that if you build a house in the mountains, you should be able to feel the grandeur of the landscape at any time. Thus, the primary objective in the design of Waterstone was to connect its owners to the environment and to architecture. Its design grew from the site.
A palette of stone, glass, patinated copper and weathered steel respond sculpturally to the dramatic site while withstanding the extreme conditions of a high desert environment. Contemporary slopes and curves are combined with more traditional materials to give the home warmth. More daring, battered, curved and overhanging architectural forms evoke the geology. The occupants are sheltered but also a part of the landscape. Both a functional and structural response to the topography, the home nestles into the side of the canyon with three “pods” which interconnect by angled glass bridges that span the streams and ponds below. The arrangement of the pods and bridges prompts more communication with the land and the bridges allow more outside walls and unobstructed views; the occupants are sheltered but a part of the landscape.
