Case Study: Walsh House

The Walsh House, designed by John Pawson in 2001, provides a perfect connection between the houses surrounding, and the luxury inside. The Walsh House is located in Telluride, a small town in Colorado located in the valley of three mountains. Pawson designed the house in such a way, that no matter where you were in the house, you could always enjoy the view. In fact, Pawson flipped the house completely, by putting the residential part of the house on the first floor, and the open public places on the second floor. Pawson’s explains that people spend more time in the common rooms, and those rooms should be the ones with the views. Pawson designs focus through Minimalism, a concept that has flourished since the ending of World War II. Because of this, many textures, patterns, and materials reflect natural objects one would find in the area. On the exterior of the building, Pawson uses two contrasting natural elements to connect the outside world to the inside home. The bottom floor is comprised of different sized stones casted into concrete, a tribute to the rocky, yet beautiful mountains surrounding the home. The second floor, made up of vertical pieces of dark wood, dramatically contrasting the first floor. This contrast provides the difference between those public and private spaces. Although The Walsh Home is no bigger than any other house on the block, it provides a very different message to the user.