Victorian House Adds An Extension Music Box Facades

American CCY Architects rebuilt and expanded an 1880s house in Aspen, Colorado, including a music room with a piano-themed perforated metal facades.

The old Victorian mansion had been destroyed by fire and had been vacant for ten years, necessitating considerable repair work.

The ancient fire-charred beams in the main gabled house were maintained, and the living rooms were rebuilt to seem more expansive. The Music Box, a detached gabled expansion, is a guest house that also serves as a venue for piano orchestra.

The Music Box opens to a private garden patio, which connects it to the Victorian, allowing for outdoor entertaining, and blurs the barrier between inside and outside.

The Music Box's shape and scale are respectful to the neighborhood's architectural legacy, but the material attitude contrasts with the ornate Victorian— a single material, Galvalume bent with four-inch exposes, covers the roof and walls.

The Music Box receives sunlight from all sides, but undesired alley views and strong western light are filtered out by perforated paneling in a pattern taken from Chopin's work, "Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op.9, No.2," an owner favorite.

The cladding serves as a rainscreen and runs constantly over the façade, regardless of whether what's behind it is a complete wall or a window. When the scrim is placed in front of the glass, it offers solar shade for the inside during the day; at night, the light from within the glazing illuminates the scrim pattern, creating an ethereal glow.

Photos by Draper White Photography.