Telluride Gem

The experience of walking these lands up high nestled in the San Juan Mountains lifts you with a soaring feeling and cradles you as if in a nest in one of the surrounding Aspen trees. This is one of the initial visions the owners had and wanted to experience. What expansive beauty in every direction.

Our early talks and meetings on the land were full of deep respect and reverence as the owners live a very mindful and spiritual life woven in with their thriving professional lives. The respect and reverence are for the Native Americans who walked this land as their home as well as the abundance in wildlife who show up every day, whether it be the eagles and hawks flying in the sky or the elk, deer, wildcats, or bear passing through. There is a lightness the owners wanted to tread, so these wishes were a big part of the concept.

The other factors to consider as we moved into our conceptual designs were the complexity of the site, steepness of the terrain and the owners need and desire to build a ‘healthy’ home impervious to mold for health reasons. We had a few things come forward which set the tone. First to let this home float as much as possible off the land and let the contours of the land remain as they were as much as possible allowing for snow melt and water to move over the land as it naturally would without coming into contact with the wall systems as seldomly could be. The second inspiration was more independent. We felt an energetic corridor toward a mountain peak to the west which wanted acknowledgement. The front entry and great spaces on the main level had their own commanding mountain views to the Southwest, and so very majestic. As you make your way to the upper level, you enter another alignment, rotated off above the main level and a feature we call the ‘light bridge’. This experience pulls you toward and frames the views Westerly toward the mountain mentioned above and then Southerly toward the town of Telluride and the ski slopes beyond. The final big design decision was to keep the garage semi-detached connected only by roof system to mitigate toxins from the automobiles entering the home.

To achieve meeting the health concerns of the owners we had expert guidance in building and detailing for energy efficient Passivhaus principles for the building/thermal envelope within our design team. We also had expert guidance from a building biologist working with our mechanical engineer and team members on complicated design and coordination while also vetting each building material, sealant, paint… every aspect of what is going into this home so that no toxins, or as little as humanly possible in a new build.

Also of special note in this project is a newer offering Pure Form has been researching and beginning to practice which we call Pure Form Activation (PFA). This exercise is an intense study of gemstones and their grounding and healing properties. We placed them specific to each stage of construction, initially in the land to anchor the project with intention into the landscape prior to foundation pours. Following that we added the round of stones to the main level floor systems and key wall placements. Finally, we added to the second floor system, walls and then roof system. Since ancient time gems have been considered to have healing properties and health benefits. With this in mind we have created a network of different gemstones in their home to facilitate an added level of wellbeing specific to the owners and their children.

We wanted to share all the layering of this home as it is for sure, multi-faceted, but what we want the owners and their family and friends to experience most, is how simply and purely, because of all this care, they can live every day, mind, body and spirit feeling nurtured and inspired.

Construction Completion – Spring 2025 & Final Project photos Summer 2025