Tracy Weil Residence

This is a painting studio and residence located in an industrial zone near the South Platte River. Inspired by the owner's family farmstead on the plains of North Dakota the project includes a tower at the entry and a low silo shaped greenhouse. Each floor contains an enclosed bathroom and utility closets and are otherwise open. The ground floor contains a kitchen and is furnished for dining and entertaining while the upper floor is primarily for sleeping. As the most prominent and lyrical element the tower is also the unifying planning element in the design linking all major functions, the existing low building and the outdoors both at grade and at the roof deck. The proportions of the tower are large enough to provide significant exhibition space on three levels and the deck is large enough for a furniture grouping. Materials were chosen for high durability and very low cost. The steel siding is carefully detailed at the edges but otherwise very utilitarian. Polycarbonate sheet is used for the large ridge skylight and most of the window area in the stair. A double layer of Lexan is used for the transparent floor panel below the skylight. At the stair tower the sheathing is cement board screwed in place and flashed at the corners and parapet. The cedar trellis at the tower is carefully jointed and attached to resist high wind loads. As a former bartender of some acclaim the owner chose rubber matting for the roof deck as the ideal flooring surface.

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