Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this four-bedroom, five-bath steel, concrete, and brick home sits on top of a rocky hill in the Black Forest. Known as the Smith House or Ventanas, which means windows in Spanish, the property was designed by the modernist Walter S. White in 1984.
With a reputation for buildings with massive roofs not supported by internal load-bearing walls, but by columns, White had built the majority of his structures in the 1950s and 1960s, and was not taking clients in the 1980s. But Dr. Marlene Smith convinced the architect to come out of retirement by taking him to the site and showing him the 360-degree mountain views; Ventanas was White’s last architectural project and the largest private residence he ever designed.
The 7,390-square-foot home is a quarter circle arc with the center of the arc positioned to take advantage of views and the winter sun. The outer arc is a continuous wall of windows on two levels below a curvaceous solid fir roof, while the inside of the arc features rows of clerestory and transom windows. Known for his advanced window technologies, White used a passive solar design with patented rotating windows to help heat and cool the property.
Inside, the fir ceiling provides a continuous design element that stretches overhead from one end of the house to the other, supported by mahogany-enclosed steel I-beams. Details include clear birch, imported Honduran mahogany, and milled slate floors. The listing also comes with a separate 900-square-foot glass-walled and birch sun house, rock gardens, a putting green, tennis court, and basketball court.
Love what you see? 10780 South Forest Drive is on the market now for $2,500,000.