Luxury Mountain Architecture in Aspen, CO
Aerie & Stone creates singular mountain homes and legacy estates across Aspen and the high Rockies — extraordinary craft, shaped by the light, the site, and life at altitude.
Homes Made for the Mountains and for a Life
A great mountain home is one of the most demanding things in architecture to get right, and one of the most rewarding. It has to answer a brutal and beautiful place — the snow load, the extreme temperatures, the way the light falls at altitude, the pull of the peaks and the shelter you crave in a storm — while also serving the particular, luxurious life its owners will live inside it: the gathering and the solitude, the arrival after a day on the mountain, the fire, the views, the guests, the generations. Aerie & Stone was built to do exactly that, at the highest level. For twenty-four years, from our studio in the heart of Aspen, we have created singular custom residences, ski homes, and legacy estates across Aspen, Snowmass, and the high Rockies for a small, discerning clientele, and we approach each one as a work of extraordinary craft rooted in its site. We are, first, architects of the mountain condition — masters of the structure, the envelope, the way stone and timber and glass meet snow and light — and, just as much, architects of how a family actually lives at altitude, so the home is as warm and livable as it is dramatic. We hold our work to a standard of restraint and material honesty that keeps it timeless rather than fashionable, and we manage the famously complex reality of high-country construction with the discretion, calm, and rigor that this level of work requires. The result is a home that belongs completely to its place and its people — singular, enduring, and made to be loved for generations. Creating that, for the few who want it, is the whole reason our studio exists.
- ✓Masters of the mountain condition — snow, light, structure
- ✓Designed for how a family lives at altitude
- ✓Restraint and material honesty — timeless, not trendy
- ✓24 years, 120+ residences across the high Rockies
The Work of the Studio
Singular mountain architecture, from a first residence to a family legacy.
A residence, a ski home, or a family compound? We accept a limited number of commissions each year.
Homes Rooted to the Mountains
A few of the singular residences and estates created across Aspen and the high Rockies.
Three Beliefs
For mountain homes of singular quality, the high Rockies come to Aerie & Stone.
The Mountain Comes First
A great mountain home answers its place — the light, the snow, the peaks — before it answers anything else.
Dramatic and Warm at Once
The finest mountain architecture is both awe-inspiring and deeply livable. We refuse to trade one for the other.
Built to Be Inherited
We craft homes of such quality and restraint that they feel inevitable in thirty years — legacies, not trends.
From First Vision to a Home for Generations
A considered, unhurried process worthy of a home meant to last a lifetime and beyond.
Conversation & Site
We begin by understanding you, your life at altitude, and the site — its light, views, and demands.
Design
We author the home as a work of craft rooted to its place — the structure, the materials, the light, the life.
Documentation & Approvals
We produce meticulous drawings and navigate the exacting approvals and engineering of high-country building.
Build & Deliver
We manage the complex build with discretion and rigor, and hand over a home made to be treasured.
The Hardest Site Deserves the Finest Architect
Building a great home anywhere is difficult; building one in the high mountains is a different order of challenge, and it is precisely why this work rewards a master's hand. Consider what a mountain home must reconcile. It must stand up to punishing snow loads, brutal freeze-thaw cycles, and extremes of temperature and sun that would destroy an ordinary house, which demands real structural and building-science command. It must relate to a landscape of overwhelming power — the peaks, the light, the weather — without either shrinking from it or fighting it, which demands a rare architectural sensibility. And it must do all of that while being a warm, gracious, deeply livable home for a family and its guests, comfortable after a hard day on the mountain and beautiful for a lifetime of gatherings. Get any one of those wrong and the home fails; get them all right, together, and you have something extraordinary that generic building and lesser architects simply cannot produce. This is exactly why, at altitude, the choice of architect matters more, not less, than it does at sea level, and why the finest mountain homes are almost always the work of studios that have devoted themselves to this specific, demanding art. Devoting ourselves to it — mastering the mountain condition and the luxurious life it can hold, for the few clients who want the best — is the entire reason Aerie & Stone exists, and it is the difference you feel the moment you walk through the door.
- ✓Snow, freeze-thaw, and extremes demand real mastery
- ✓Relating to overwhelming landscape takes rare sensibility
- ✓Dramatic AND warm — a home, not just a statement
- ✓At altitude, the architect matters more, not less
Homes to Be Inherited
Aerie & Stone designed our home on Red Mountain over three years, and it is the single most beautiful thing we own. They understood exactly how we wanted to live at altitude — the light, the views, the way the house should open to the mountains and close around a fire in winter — and translated it into architecture of extraordinary craft. Every material, every proportion, every detail was considered. And they managed an enormously complex mountain build with total calm and discretion. It is a masterpiece and a joy, and we would build with no one else.
We have owned architect-designed homes before, and Aerie & Stone are simply the finest we've worked with. Their command of mountain architecture — the structure, the snow, the light, the relationship to the land — is matched by a restraint and elegance that keeps the work timeless rather than trendy. Our ski home in Snowmass performs flawlessly in the harshest conditions and feels like a warm embrace after a day on the mountain. The craftsmanship is museum-grade. A rare and exceptional studio.
Aerie & Stone designed our family compound in Starwood — a main house, two guest structures, and the landscape that ties them together — and delivered a legacy estate our family will treasure for generations. They think at the scale of a life and a place, not just a building, and the result is coherent, singular, and deeply rooted to its site. The discretion, the management, the sheer quality were beyond anything we expected. It is the finest work we have ever commissioned, and a privilege to have been part of.
Begin a conversation about your mountain home
We accept a limited number of commissions each year. If you are creating a singular home in the mountains and value craft, discretion, and mastery above all, we would be honored to talk.
On Working With the Studio
What makes mountain architecture different?
Almost everything. A mountain home must withstand punishing snow loads, brutal freeze-thaw cycles, and extremes of temperature and sun that would destroy an ordinary house — which demands serious structural and building-science mastery. It must relate to an overwhelming landscape without shrinking from it or fighting it. And it must still be a warm, gracious, livable home for a family and its guests. Reconciling all of that at once is a specialized art, which is why the finest mountain homes are almost always the work of studios devoted to this specific condition. Twenty-four years designing for the high Rockies is exactly that devotion, and it's the difference you feel the moment you walk in.
Do you only design very large homes?
We focus on singular, high-craft residences, but 'singular' is about quality and rootedness, not square footage. We've created intimate mountain retreats and sprawling family compounds, and what unites them is the standard: extraordinary craft, a deep response to the site, and a home designed around how its owners actually live at altitude. For the right client and vision, a beautifully considered smaller home is as satisfying for us to make as a grand estate. Because we take on a limited number of commissions each year to give each our full attention, we're candid early about whether a given project is a fit.
How involved will I need to be?
As involved or as unburdened as you wish. The most important part is the beginning, where we come to understand you, your life at altitude, and your site deeply — that shapes everything. From there, many of our clients relish the creative journey and we bring them fully into it; others, especially those building from afar, value that our full-service management and owner's representation protect their time almost entirely, handling the trades, the engineering, the approvals, and the thousand decisions a complex mountain build entails. Either way the process is discreet and unhurried, designed around your life rather than the reverse.
How long does a mountain home take, and what does it cost?
A singular mountain home is a considered undertaking. Between design, the exacting approvals and engineering of high-country building, and a construction season constrained by weather and altitude, a full residence typically spans well over two years, and we won't rush the decisions or the craft that make it exceptional. On investment, work at this level is bespoke and priced accordingly — typically a percentage of construction cost or a negotiated fee based on scope and ambition — and after an initial conversation we provide a clear, transparent framework. Our clients seek the finest, not the least expensive, and we're candid about numbers from the first meeting.
Will my privacy be protected?
Absolutely, and it's fundamental to how we work. Discretion is a requirement of the clientele we serve, and we treat it as sacrosanct — confidentiality about who our clients are, where they build, and what we create for them, upheld by us and by every consultant and contractor we engage. The residences in our portfolio are shared only with permission and with care. When you work with the studio, you can be confident that your home, your identity, and the details of the commission remain entirely private. It is one reason our clients come to us by referral and return to us across a lifetime of building.
What areas do you serve?
Our studio is in the heart of Aspen, and we design mountain homes throughout the high Rockies — Aspen, Snowmass, Red Mountain, Starwood, Woody Creek, and out to Vail and the surrounding valleys. We know this landscape, its light and weather, its approval processes, and the exceptional craftspeople who can realize work of this caliber at altitude, which is essential to the quality we hold ourselves to. For a compelling residence in another great mountain setting, we're glad to talk. If you're creating a singular home in the mountains, we would welcome a private conversation.
Begin a Conversation
Tell us a little about the home you envision and the site if you have one. We will respond personally, and in confidence, to arrange a conversation.
- Visit us540 E Hyman Avenue, Aspen, CO 81611
- Call us(970) 555-0129
- Email usstudio@aerieandstone.com