River House

Modern | Single-Family Residence

Basalt, Colorado

Modern Tranquility Along the Roaring Fork

Set along the banks of the Roaring Fork River, River House is conceived as an architectural dialogue between water, wood, and sky. Designed by Z Group Architecture & Interior Design, the home’s contemporary form embraces its natural setting, celebrating the river’s movement through stillness, reflection, and light.

From the first approach, the home appears to float gently above the landscape, its horizontal rooflines echoing the river’s calm. Expansive panes of glass frame the flowing water just beyond, while warm natural materials—cedar siding, steel, and stone—anchor the design in the riparian terrain.

A Seamless Connection Between Architecture and Nature

River House redefines the boundary between indoors and outdoors. Each space opens fluidly to terraces, gardens, and the riverbank, blurring the line between architecture and environment.

Large window view into the dining room of Shadow Mountain Residence in Aspen, showing contemporary interiors with natural textures, stone walls, and a connection to surrounding evergreens.

A central great room forms the heart of the home—an open, light-filled living space oriented to the river’s edge. Floor-to-ceiling windows capture sunlight filtering through cottonwoods and reflect the dynamic movement of water. The interplay of transparency and structure creates a rhythm as balanced as the landscape itself.

Sustainability guided the design at every scale. The home’s siting minimizes disturbance to the existing riverbank while maximizing natural ventilation and daylight. Local materials, high-performance glazing, and energy-efficient systems ensure long-term environmental harmony, allowing the home to age gracefully within its setting.

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Contemporary home nestled at the base of Shadow Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, illuminated against the twilight sky with its modern glass façade and terraced landscape design.

A Seamless Connection Between Architecture and Nature

River House redefines the boundary between indoors and outdoors. Each space opens fluidly to terraces, gardens, and the riverbank, blurring the line between architecture and environment.

A central great room forms the heart of the home—an open, light-filled living space oriented to the river’s edge. Floor-to-ceiling windows capture sunlight filtering through cottonwoods and reflect the dynamic movement of water. The interplay of transparency and structure creates a rhythm as balanced as the landscape itself.

Sustainability guided the design at every scale. The home’s siting minimizes disturbance to the existing riverbank while maximizing natural ventilation and daylight. Local materials, high-performance glazing, and energy-efficient systems ensure long-term environmental harmony, allowing the home to age gracefully within its setting.

Crafted for Connection

The interiors of River House are defined by simplicity, material integrity, and quiet luxury. Warm wood ceilings and minimalist finishes evoke a sense of calm, while the design’s open plan fosters connection to both nature and one another.

Generous outdoor living spaces—including river-facing decks, a pool terrace, and covered lounge areas—extend the home’s livability year-round. Each level engages the river differently: from the upper-level bedrooms, serene treetop views; from the main level, an immersive connection to water and landscape.

“River House is designed as a place to pause—to breathe, to listen, and to reconnect with nature’s rhythm.” — Scott McHale, Principal & Director of Design

A Home Shaped by Water and Light

Beyond its form, River House is a meditation on movement—how light, shadow, and reflection animate a space. The river becomes both subject and collaborator, influencing the architecture’s mood from dawn to dusk.

By day, sunlight dances across the interior’s natural textures. By night, warm interior light glows through the home’s transparent planes, turning it into a quiet beacon along the river’s edge.

Every design gesture—each alignment of window, plane, and path—reinforces the same idea: that architecture can slow time, bringing awareness to the present moment.