A creation of the noted ultramodern staff at Voorsanger Architects, this vast ski home is situated deep within the Rocky Mountains near Aspen, Colorado. Built for Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, the house occupies an isolated lot that was once cleared for a home, but was never built on until now. Due to the privacy of the location, nearly every wall of the dwelling is finished in glass panels, giving sweeping views from each room. The roof of the house is unique and visually enticing, folding and creasing from end to end and side to side to give each area inside just the right ceiling height. A contemporary homage to a traditional hunting lodge, most of the visible construction materials used are wood and rough-cut, natural stone. Inside, the spacious residence includes a long gallery hall, three-story ceilings, and a long wall dividing its rooms into two distinct sections. Commanding the Colorado slopes, this home is as influenced by the woodlands as it is by modernism.
You would be hard pressed to find a more fitting location for this lodge-inspired luxury residence. At over 9000 feet of elevation, the property is nestled among the mountains of Colorado with commanding views of the slopes for hundreds of miles around. Partially due to its relative isolation, the home is designed to be nearly self-sufficient off the grid.
Upon arriving at the circular end of the house’s driveway, guests are greeted by a long, jutting overhang finished in angular wood patterns underneath. This overhang extends the bounds of the home in an almost kinetic fashion, lending its design great energy.
At night, the main entrance becomes perhaps even more dramatic as well-placed accent lighting helps the overhang’s underside to shimmer, emerging powerfully from the evening shadows.
The other end of the luxurious residence doesn’t have the same horizontal energy as its public side, but a deeply creased roofline keeps the design fresh and captivating. Glass walls all around give nonstop views of the stunning surrounding landscape.
Inside, a solid-looking moss stone wall and a more traditionally finished edge (featuring works of fine art, each individually illuminated) define the central hallway of the home. To the left on the downsloping side of the property, all public rooms and the master suite reside. Guest bedrooms and utilities are set to the right, with a view of mountain ranges to the East.
Except for the stone wall which divides the home, most of the surfaces of the interior from the floor on up to the ceiling are a beautifully dark variety of wood finished with high gloss.
The outside isn’t the only area of the house with impressive nighttime lighting. Each passageway between the guest quarters, where the home’s ceilings are at their shortest, has ample hidden illumination ready to be activated when the sun goes down.
At the near western edge of the abode, a tall living room features low-set furniture done in warm, natural colors and textures. An ergonomic dual reclining loveseat forms one border of the room, denoted by the inclusion of carpeting within its bounds.
This luxurious master bathroom is actually one of the largest and most airy rooms of the house, with all its major components laid out in sections in the room’s center instead of along one wall. Even here, the inside walls of the house don’t reach all the way to the 30-foot ceilings, uniting every major part of the building.
Voorsanger Architects
