Bar House

Bar House in Aspen, Colorado by Peter L. Gluck & Partners, Architects

The following text and images (copyright Paul Warchol) are courtesy Peter L. Gluck & Partners, Architects for their Bar House, completed in 2005.

This large family house (5,750 s.f.) is located on a deep narrow valley, bounded by a river on one edge and a road on the other. Winter weather is severe, and the sun reaches the bottom of the valley only from the south. Unlike the surrounding houses, this house runs perpendicular to the valley to maximize the southern exposure.

The bedrooms and the family room are in a single-loaded corridor, located on the south side of the second floor. The linear program allows each room to receive the southern exposure and provides spectacular views of the valley. An exterior stair is elongated on the northern side, leading to an open-air roof deck which allows light into the second floor and gives the bedrooms cross ventilation. The living room on the ground floor has a dramatic view of the scenic surroundings on three sides.

The driveway separates the main house from the guest apartment and garage. An overhang on the house provides cover in inclement weather and storage above for kayaks, which can be dropped down onto a car rack. The slightly sloping site is stepped, creating discrete landscaped terraces reminiscent of the original site.