Loom Artist Studio is a Tiny Pink House Boasting Big Eco Strategies in Aspen

Known to everyone as the 'Pink House,' this small artist's studio in Aspen was inspired by the Victorian architecture of the surrounding historic homes.

To the architects, 1 Friday Design Collective, the studio is known as Loom, and was designed to blend in with its neighborhood despite its pink and white color scheme. At 500 sq ft, the gable-roofed mini cottage provides space for an office, a library and a weaving area. LEED-inspired green building solutions were a high priority throughout the design process.

1 Friday Design Collective began working with the client to remodel their kitchen and then began designing a series of artist studio studies. These studies evolved into the result you see here – Loom, a two story, 500 sq ft mini cottage. Located in the backyard of a quaint Hyman Avenue residence, Loom takes direction from the historic aesthetic of the surrounding homes, but makes sure to modernize the design, construction and materials. The outside is pink and white, while the inside is all bright and white. The lower floor is occupied by storage and an office with a library. In the back, a staircase accesses the loft, which was inspired by the operation and aesthetic of the traditional weaving loom.

Built with the entrance facing the south, the artist studio takes advantage of solar passive design and a steep roof to shed snow. LEED inspired solutions were incorporated throughout the entire building process and high performance materials were used in order to maximize energy efficiency. The lofted weaving studio is actually open to the ground floor and the lattice-like railings along the side provide safety but allow air to flow freely between the floors. This allows heat to rise in the winter and in the summer, windows and doors are open to encourage natural ventilation and cooling. Work was completed on the small studio in September of 2011.