CCY Architects

Victorian Music Box

Victorian Music Box

VICTORIAN MUSIC BOX

CCY Architects

ARCHITECTS
CCY Architects

PHOTOS
Draper White (8), CCY Architects (2), Lena Nicholson (1)

SIZE
5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft

YEAR
2018

LOCATION
Aspen, CO, United States

CATEGORY
Residential › Private House

Set in the historic mining district of Aspen, Colorado, this project is a renovation and detached addition to a 19th century Victorian-era home.

Victorian Music Box
Victorian Music Box

Our clients, music aficionados, wanted a light-filled recital space in which to host music performances.

But in a dense neighborhood with exposures to the southwest, the site did not allow for traditional windows without compromising privacy and sun control.

So, to create a light-filled space that would provide year-round privacy and heat mitigation during summer months, we designed a custom aluminum façade perforated in a way that introduced dappled light into the space while guaranteeing our clients privacy and sun control.

Victorian Music Box
Victorian Music Box
Victorian Music Box

We designed the perforations as an interpretation of the patterns made by the sheet music of one of our client’s favorite compositions: Chopin’s Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2.

The aluminum skin covers the roof and walls. Bent with four-inch exposures, the surface articulations create a contemporary interpretation of the clapboard-clad buildings that have been so central a part of Aspen’s architectural history, including on the adjacent Victorian-era home.

Victorian Music Box
Victorian Music Box

From inside, dappled light illuminates the space in a constantly evolving melody as the sun moves throughout the sky.

And from outside, at night, the façade becomes a lantern inspired by a timeless melody with a pattern of light referencing Chopin’s score.

Victorian Music Box


Victorian Music Box
Victorian Music Box


Victorian Music Box
Victorian Music Box

CCY Architects
T +1 970 9274925
CCY Architects
228 Midland Ave, Basalt, CO 81621, United States