Boulder, Colorado - M. Gerwing Architects blog posts for M. Gerwing Architects
architect boulder
With apologies to Schoolhouse Rock and De La Soul, what exactly is it about the number three, at least in the world of architecture and design, that makes it so ubiquitous and appealing? I’m not going to dive into the Holy Trinity or discourse about mind, body and soul, but it is so often true that a grouping of three is so often more compatible, more satisfying than two or four.
One of the most satisfying aspects of my job is the opportunity we often have to design a house amongst Colorado’s more rural landscapes. Sometimes that is out on the plains, with the building sitting out on that immense expanse, looking back at the Flatirons or snow-capped mountains beyond. Occassionally it is up in the high alpine terrain of the Continental Divide, creating a house that can nestle down in the stunning but often harsh landscape. And quite often if is in the foothills of the Front Range, framing a panoramic view that stretches from the plains to the highest mountain tops.
Another in a series of posts of some of the remarkable architects that were working in Boulder, Colorado in the 1960s. This was a particularly fruitful time for questioning the received notions of residential design and Boulder's building boom allowed some of the more talented local architects to experiment with new forms, materials and most notably, new sets of relationships between the house and landscape.
I have been thinking a lot lately about vernacular architecture and indigenous responses to local climate. By that I mean how a building and design practice, over time, has found architectural solutions to solve some of the problems posed by heat and cold, sunlight and shadow, aridity and humidity. Reading through some older posts on my delving into the possibility of trying to define a Colorado vernacular, it strikes me that very few of those examples I identified tackled the issues of heat and solar gain. That might sound like a recent concern, more one of energy use and sustainability, but a few quick glances at traditional southern architecture reveals design/technological solutions that we have largely forgotten in the age of air-conditioning.
A number of years ago we worked on a project in Boulder that held a number of challenges, not the least of which was a long narrow lot with severe building restrictions. My client's property was 50' wide by 188' long, but because of its corner location, both street-facing sides of the lot require a 25' wide setback from the street. That setback along with additional side and rear yard setbacks made the building envelope 20' wide by 128' long, a 6 1/2 : 1 length to width ratio
