It is with great pleasure that we announce the winning of yet another, well deserved award for The Privé. The American Residential Design Awards have issued a Grand ARDA for this well designed home that sits on Elk Mountain Scenic Highway above Asheville with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Mt. Pisgah.
The American Residential Design Awards by AIBD, The American Institute of Building Design, does a great job in the text below summing up the quality and design of this house:
2016 Grand ARDA – Retro+Fit Design, LLC, Asheville, North Carolina writes:
“This home is a custom developer spec, located in a high-end mountain community on a beautiful lot offering spectacular views with many challenges. The developer stipulated only that it be modern, marketable, and exceptional.
The south-facing site has views of the Downtown skyline, and long-range mountain views. The lot warranted something dramatic and sculptural. I designed the house conceptually from the outside in, as if designing a piece of sculpture. By shifting a series of cantilevered blocks at different angles and anchoring them to the mountain visually and structurally with the vertical circulation block, I created a dynamic structure while incorporating optimal views. The house appears to change kaleidoscopically on approach, creating drama as one arrives at the house.
The drama continues when you enter this house. Large floor to ceiling windows, a 24’ sliding door, and expansive decks at each level merge the interior and exterior capturing the stunning views.
This site presented numerous challenges. The mountain site drops approximately 320′ from the road and falls under several steep slope and protected ridge ordinances. Guidelines limited the amount of site disturbance, tree removal, LRV values, and restricted the height of the structure above grade. Another challenge was balancing privacy with accessibility. The further we put the house from the street the more difficult it was to design a manageable driveway.
Although the house was designed in a sculptural way, I was able to create an efficient flow of functional spaces that would be marketable to a variety of potential buyers including: retirees, empty nesters, or a family with children.
In conclusion, this house is as exceptional as the surrounding mountains, breathtaking, solid and inspiring.” –The American Residential Design Awards by AIBD.
