TABERNASH

Overlooking the picturesque ridgeline of the Rocky Mountains the 4-acre residence rests above the town of Tabernash, approximately eighty- miles northwest of Denver. The clients use the weekend home during the skiing and fly fishing seasons while renting the home periodically for weddings and social events. Over the past five years, the mountain pine beetle has destroyed 90-percent of the existing canopy of Lodgepole Pines. With concerns of potential wildfires, the clients decided to remove the existing canopy including a few remaining trees left untouched by the beetle. In response, we developed a reforestation strategy that mimics the ecological succession process of the montane zone while creating a series of connected landscape experiences that integrate topographic change and surrounding viewsheds. Seasonally mown trails navigate though sculptural timber forms consisting of recently cleared stacked timber.  Over time, the timber forms are intended to decompose while providing habitat for wildlife and insect species.