Perched on a hillside with sweeping views of Twin Lakes, this modest mountain retreat embraces the drama of its steep landscape. The home is elevated to minimize disturbance to the natural terrain, hovering above the ground while offering a quiet sense of expansion into the surrounding wilderness. Every design decision reflects a careful balance between preserving the site and creating a warm and welcoming refuge for its occupants.
Morgan Law
Diem Tran
Hammerwell Inc.
Eclipse Engineering
Bright Sense
Mountain Engineering and Testing, Inc.
Phoenix Haus
Parish Ruiz De Velasco: Parrch +
Sarah Vanderpool: Shape Architecture Studio
1,560 sf
Twin Lakes, CO
We have worked with Morgan Law and team at Shape Architecture Studio since March 2021 to design a modest footprint net-zero home on a ridge above Twin Lakes in Lake County, Colorado. Since the inception of our project, we have had a really wonderful experience. Morgan and colleagues took our priorities and preferences to heart, and contemplated a unique design that expertly addressed our various competing requests. Our desires to tread lightly on the landscape and preserve natural ground cover, maximize views in multiple directions, be simultaneously moderate and impactful in design aesthetic but not austere, integrate passive optimization of sunlight and shade to minimize energy use, introduced a myriad of balancing acts for Shape to navigate. They worked seamlessly with the engineering team and our general contractor, and maintained a consistently positive and collaborative spirit. In particular, we appreciated moments of strong voice and opinion on the virtues of one design choice versus another, and these led to a much better outcome than if we had tried to decide every detail ourselves.
–Â Homeowner
The house is composed of two distinct volumes that work together to define both public and private realms. The gathering volume extends outward toward the south with a generous deck that reaches into the landscape, offering an uninterrupted connection to the mountains and lakes. Opposite this is the dwelling volume, in which individual bedrooms and a lofted space create a more intimate environment.
The two volumes are joined by a central mudroom that visually anchors the front and back of the home. Dark wood siding wraps the exterior and continues inside the mudroom, connecting the home to the landscape while allowing the structure to stand proudly as an artful object on the hillside. Throughout the design, energy efficiency guided every decision, resulting in a retreat that feels both thoughtful and timeless.
A sloped roof faces south and holds a series of solar panels totalling to 8.8kw with batteries located in the bunker making this house net zero. Usually it’s off grid with minimal usage of the heat pump in the winter. The slope of the roof guides visitors toward the entrance as they ascend to the home. A private deck sits just off the primary bedroom, framed by wing walls that shield it from the activity of the main deck. These walls also emphasize the bold geometry of the structure, and help shape comfortable outdoor spaces protected from sun and wind.
