Valley Lane house

Sitting on a steeply sloping site in the foothills outside of Boulder, this house was designed for a family moving from Los Angeles who wanted the contemporary/ modern feel of a southern CA aesthetic, but adapted to the Colorado environment and climate.

To address the environmental challenges of the location, the house stretches along the slope, minimizing the amount of disturbance. Simply divided into two major rectangular parts, the house consists of public and private portions. These areas are linked by an inverted sloped roof with continuous beams which span across the building.

The roof sections angle upward to the western views, simultaneously reflecting and reacting to the extremity of the slope. The home's overall order of public/private is further emphasized by highlighting the positions of children/parents, owners/guests, and work/play.

Close collaboration with the clients allowed the construction of the house to be completed within a very short schedule and for a very economical budget.

Designed as Principal at Arcadea, Inc. Mark Gerwing Project Architect Builder: Anderson Brothers Contractors Structural Engineer: Jon X. Giltner Photography: Imagica and Mark Gerwing

Loveland house

This project is the design of a small house for the relatively flat plains around Loveland, Colorado facing the western mountains.  The site is tightly bounded on its two long sides running east-west and frames a view to Longs Peak and the Indian Peaks to the west.

At the center of the property, a magnificent ash tree sits alone, surrounded only by grasses, on a gradual western slope.  Centering the house around this tree, the design allows the tree to become the central focus of a courtyard.  The volumes of the house are divided into three sections and angled to ‘tune’ the tree’s shadow to provide shade to the western facing windows from late spring to early fall.

The interior is very simple – a single, large gathering space for family and individual bedrooms making up the arms of the courtyard.

The house creates subtle, overlapping areas of private, semi-private, semi-public and public spaces that change with the seasons and the sun/shadow of the house.

Designed by M. Gerwing Architects

Mark Gerwing, Project Architect

unbuilt

Nederland hillside house

This is single family house designed for a steep, west-facing slope outside of Nederland, Colorado.  Located just below Hurricane Hill Drive, this house is organized by a series of parallel bearing walls providing lateral support against the extremely high winds sweeping across the Continental Divide through the site.

The east side of the house tucks into the hillside to create a private, unobtrusive face to the road and neighbors, and then open up on the west side to capture the panoramic views of Barker Reservoir and the mountains.

Designed by M. Gerwing Architects

Mark Gerwing, Project Architect

under construction

Wicker Park, Chicago townhouse

This is the design for a speculative townhouse designed for a site in the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago. The project centers around a large two-story bookcase/fireplace that is wrapped by the stairs accessing the private realm of the bedrooms upstairs.

The brick exterior makes a kind of exoskeleton to house the clients, making a solid refuge in what was a marginal neighborhood.  The light and views are largely interior with masonry walls wrapping the house and site.

Designed by Mark Gerwing

Mark Gerwing, Project Architect

unbuilt