Boulderspace

Unexpected shapes, unusual materials, surprising splashes of color – it’s the little things that make a house an architect’s home.

Working with Historic Boulder, Boulderspace brings you a glimpse from the 2008 Landmarks of the Future Tour: Architects at Home. Through this series we will be featuring contemporary homes from six of our local architects. Each house demonstrates the designer’s singular approach to solving the challenges of contemporary residential living and suggests that the definition of a landmark has nothing to do with age, since all of the homes were completed in the last 14 years. These homes illustrate the livability and creativity of contemporary design and how it contributes to the cultural fabric of the community. The architects living in these homes embrace the enduring tradition of innovation in Boulder. We will kick off our virtual tour with the home of Fenno Hoffman at 505 Genva Avenue.

505 Geneva Avenue:

Designed and built “green” in 1993 by architect Fenno Hoffman for his family of six, this house has custom masonry, redwood, stainless steel and copper exteriors and slate, maple, concrete, veneer plaster, redwood and drywall interiors. The plumbing, radiant heat and electrical systems are industrial strength and highly energy efficient.

Following no particular style, the architect solved functional problems using practical materials and fit the house into its sloping site and between huge trees, while making abstract references to Swiss and Tuscan modernism and Colorado agricultural, mining and rural vernacular buildings. Two geometries control the plan, the Jeffersonian neighborhood grid and a biased grid set to help save the trees. These two axial systems are connected by radius walls that follow the land contours. Together, the three geometries form rooms with three perpendicular walls and a fourth curved wall that together express both formal, ordered, conventional, man-made space and curving organic exceptions to the geometry.

To save specimen fir trees, the house is set close to the street and nestled into its gently sloping site. While much of the house is partially underground to save energy and material expanse, the main floor kitchen, family room, dining room, living room, gallery, master suite, two bathrooms and three decks are elevated for views and to give vaulted ceilings to these special rooms. The first floor contains an oversized two-car garage, foyer with heated closets, 5 bedrooms, three bathrooms, darkroom, laundry & mechanical rooms, library and wine cellar. The lower floor contains a home theatre and open studio. The uppermost floor has two home offices and a private deck that is rigged for a hot tub. The four levels are connected by three custom stairways. The north stair connects the parent’s and children’s bedrooms in a way that’s close enough for toddlers and distant enough for teenagers. Its aluminum and steel reflect spanning structural elements. The south stair is more gracious, connecting the front door to the public rooms above, it’s formed concrete structure describing the forces retaining the hillside.

Tags: 505 Geneva Ave., Fenno Hoffman, Historic Boulder, Home Tours of the Future 2008