Dinner Over Architecture

I had a very pleasant experience last weekend. I was invited to dinner by the new owners of a home I designed very early in my career.

The original clients, Al and Linda, were enthusiastic about architecture in general and game for the adventure of building a new home. The site, in the foothills outside of Denver, was sloping and rocky. It called for a structure nestled into the slope with windows and deck facing out toward the best views.

The experience of building must have been a good one for Al and Linda; we went on to design a second home for their family a few years later on a nearby site. Their first home was sold twice. First to a couple I never met and recently to Gary and Karen. Like Al and Linda, the new owners are archiphiles. (In fact, both their son and daughter-in-law are architects.) They were eager to meet the architect for their "new" home and that is how the dinner came about. I jumped at the invitation to join them and Al. (Unfortunately, Linda was ill and unable to join us.) Approaching the house on a beautiful Colorado evening, it looked exactly as it did when built. With one big exception: the trees that Al had planted many years ago now made the house seem like a forest retreat.

To my relief, the architecture had stood the test of time. It was one of my early works, but not so early it was amateurish. What few changes Gary and Karen had made were simple improvements in keeping with the architectural theme. The original design concept was still intact and still good.

We talked about the house, architecture in general, music, Denver's restaurant scene, and family. Dinner over architecture... a very pleasasnt experience.

The house as construction was nearing complettion. 

South deck just after Al and Linda moved in.  

A more recent photo showing tree growth.