Colorado Villa

In the heart of the Rocky Mountains, amidstone of Colorado's most unspoilt landscapes, a villa for three generations takesshape. For this project, noa* reinterprets the iconic A [1] frametypology and turns it into a sophisticated sequence of private and communalspaces, where the whole family's needs can be accommodated. From the outset, the challenge of thefunctional programme turned out to be the coexistence of three differentgenerations in what visually had to be a single volume. The interior layout ofthe spaces had to combine common areas with independent privacy zones for eachof the families. In a perfect convergence between the client's needs andarchitecture, the team of designers decided to adopt the typology of thetriangular house in a more complex interplay of volumes, creating amultifaceted spatiality with an increasing level of privacy on the higherfloors. "We have implemented the cleargeometry and outward openness typical of the A-frame, but at the same time, wehave accommodated smaller, unexpected, but still very comfortable spaces withinthe larger volume. It's a space concept similar to a matryoshka system,"explains Andreas Profanter, noa* partner and project leader. The result is a 30 m long triangular prismintersected at several points by volumes of the same geometry. Thearchitecture, which in its articulated structure is perceived as a single body,houses however a completely independent private villa for the client couple anda family villa for their children and grandchildren. The entrance door on the east side of thehouse leads to a first stairwell. From here, one can access three areas: thebasement with parking spaces and cellar rooms, the client couple's privatevilla, and the family villa with a large communal living area. The ground floorof the private villa accommodates a living room, a freestanding stairway, akitchen with a cooking island and two offices overlooking the inner courtyard,where the barbecue area is set. The heart of the family villa is the largefireplace on the ground floor, which serves as a focal point between the spaciouskitchen to the east and the generous living room to the west. Therepresentative dining room with double room height adjoins the kitchen to thenorth. The relationship with the surrounding landscape is constantly beingpursued: large glass façades on all house fronts provide ever-changingperspectives. The boundaries between outside and inside are blurred throughoutthe building, as in the living area, where part of the rock is integrated intothe space. On the upper floor of the villa, there arefive bedrooms aligned with the roof's ridges. The rooms have an open plandesign, and the conventional division of space into sleeping area and bathroomhas been fluidly reimagined, with freestanding washbasins and bathtubs. Toallow the little ones to carve out a space for themselves, play areas have beencreated on the attic floor. These are directly accessible from the parents’rooms. Once again, the architecture and interiorsof the South Tyrolean design studio convey the expressive power and refinedrelationship with nature common to all noa* projects. It is a project whereintimacy and togetherness meet and where one can find itself in a uniquesymbiosis with the surrounding landscape. Project name: Colorado Villa Typology: Living Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado Client: Private Architecture: noa* network of architecture Interior Design: noa* network ofarchitecture Surface area: 600 m2