Zen Light

This North Boulder ranch style house circa 1956 was lacking spacial flow, and most importantly, life affirming daylight. The family of three desired a home that lived inside to outside while enhancing their life centered around the kitchen.

Yin and yang counter-folded gestures are repeated at different scales throughout – notice the roofline, the kitchen island, and the fireplace as examples. It is a house that balances warm and cool tones, metal and wood, architecture and landscape. While the owners could have added ceiling height to the first floor, they elected for the intimacy of an eight-foot height.

The street exposure is expressed as a continuous high band of windows that provide natural light and views to the treetops and sky, while offering privacy from the street. The backside is geared to openness to the private yard, mature vegetation and views of the Foothills.

Bedrooms on the second floor have a bit of a tree house feel. The private meditation room receives nature’s calm, facing directly into the magnificent maple and skyscape.

From the street the two-story flat roof typology fits humbly into the old neighborhood with predominantly one-story houses. A simple palette of painted brick, white oak, concrete and raw steel form a visual language that weaves old to new.

Zen Light is a home that reflects the balance of the individuals who inhabit it.