Rustic Knolls Residence, Boulder, CO

Architect: Michael Folwell Architecture, Boulder, CO, 720-334-1168, www.folwellstudios.com

Sometimes, when architectural magic (and a lot of hard work) happens, a new home feels fresh and grounded, innovative and reminiscent of a place. The Rustic Knolls Residence in northeast Boulder is just that kind of home.

The architects at Michael Folwell Architecture created a design for a main house and an outlying woodshop/guest quarters that responds to the rural, gently sloping site, the surrounding farmland, and the barn, irrigation ditches and mature deciduous tress that were already on the site when the project began.

The clients wanted an open floor plan, large windows and “view corridors” that connect indoor and outdoor public spaces. Private spaces were to be intimate areas. The architects delivered on all fronts.

The main home’s primary steel structure has a strong, rhythmic design, while on the exterior, different areas are clad in complementary materials: locally quarried buff sandstone, metal, stucco, board and batten siding, and shiplap cedar siding. The result is a smart union of colors and textures.

Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the home incorporates green building methods and materials, such as radiant concrete floors, evaporative cooling, pre-engineered lumber, Icynene insulation and photovoltaic panels.

But the project’s true success is its duality: the home showcases contemporary design elements of design and feels like it has been a part of this quiet, agrarian site for years. This architectural feat didn’t go unnoticed by the judges, who found the home’s design clever, masterly and downright beautiful.