Cliffside Cabin

This cabin/retirement home for a couple is nestled into a ridge that drops off on three sides into deep rocky canyons. With the quiet beauty of the landscape as inspiration, the shed roofline mimics the small jutting rock formations that you pass when approaching the home. Deep overhangs shelter a garden between the home and the garage, providing a small lush oasis in a relatively arid landscape. The gray roof and weathered recycled snowfence siding blend with the rock of the cliffs so that it appears as an extension of the landscape.

Passive solar heat is absorbed into the polished concrete floor slab, with additional heat provided by a freestanding direct vent propane stove. The cabin’s electricity is supplied by a custom photovoltaic array mounted to a south facing awning, which also provides summer shade to the south facing windows. The interior ceiling and exterior soffits are clad in beetle-kill pine, a readily available local resource in Colorado.

A manageable floorplan with bedroom tucked into the elevated roof exemplifies living simply in a spectacular landscape.