Garden House

Client: David & Betzi Barrett, Boulder, CO

The Barrett “Garden House” is home to David and Betzi Barrett and their son Will. The home is the realization of the architects’ dream to design their own surroundings. The in-town Boulder lot is on the side of a 27 acre community garden. The opportunity to live on the edge of this urban agricultural open space while still being a part of an existing neighborhood established the formal response of the courtyard house. The 2500 sf house and detached studio over garage shape a series of outdoor rooms, anchored by a central apple tree. This simple tree, along with the home’s developing gardens, acts as a season gauge and an opportunity for delight and celebration. The garden house also utilized green building systems, passive solar design, and low energy and low maintenance exterior materials to produce a responsive and elegantly utilitarian architecture that is a good neighbor to the surrounding houses. The Garden House has been featured in numerous national and local publications and continues to act as a local topic of conversation and admiration.