Taking Wing

In the foothills of Steamboat Springs, architect Tim Stone creates a soaring example of site-specific design

“Nature can really drive architecture,” says Tim Stone, co-principal of Kelly & Stone Architects in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Indeed, when it came to designing this 5,000-square-foot family home in the Sanctuary, a prestigious subdivision near Steamboat’s resident peak, Mount Werner, the alpine terrain posed its fair share of challenges—chief among them, a steep grade. Joining forces with the rise, Stone elevated the main level of the house above a walkout basement and garage (after all, cars could only ascend partway up the slope without burning rubber), a clever tactic that also captured panoramic views of the mountain and town. Local sandstone and cedar siding nod to the rustic landscape, while raw-steel cladding, in all its patinated glory, is a decidedly modern counterpoint to those classic mountain-lodge materials. But it’s the design’s defining feature, also a bold departure from traditional timber frames, that makes the house look as if it’s about to take flight: graceful curved roofs are evocative of wings in mid-flap. Their sculptural arc also provides shade that takes the edge off the home’s southern exposure, because, as Stone says, “in this environment, you’re either running from the sun or toward it.”

ARCHITECTURE Tim Stone, Kelly & Stone Architects, Steamboat Springs, CO, 970-875-0590, ksaarch.com