Au Naturel: Michael Piché
Michael Piché hasplenty of time toimagine his dream house— he’s still in his 30s. Butalready he’s clear aboutaspects of the design.
“I would build something very simpleand modern that has a seamless connection to the outdoors,” he said.
With stunning results, Piché(EnvDes’01) has done just this formany other people.Named Colorado Young Architect ofthe Year by the American Institute ofArchitects in 2013, he’s a principal at Aspen-based Studio B, an architectural firmspecializing in sleek residences and publicbuildings, such as schools and churches.One of Piché’s signature projects is thedazzling Linear House, a private homenear Aspen.
“Good design takes time and thoughtand reflection,” he said in March overa cup of coffee at Common Grounds, ahipster coffee house in Denver’s Sunny-side neighborhood.
Piché spends a lot of time on thesites where his buildings go, studyingthe views, the setting, the seasons, thesunlight. He always aims to blend indoorsand outdoors and match the materialswith the natural surroundings.
“Sunlight is incredible and importanton a number of levels,” he says. “Tobring it inside, and also to protect the house from it."
Piché had come to Sunnyside this daybecause the firm was building a private residence there — one that wouldblend with the nearby bungalows on theoutside while providing for an internalcourtyard open to the heavens.A preoccupation with the outdoorsmakes sense for an architect from Colorado, and Piché is as Colorado as craft beer.Born in Colorado Springs, he movedto Boulder in his teens, captained thefootball team at Boulder High as a strongsafety, then earned a bachelor’s degree inenvironmental design at CU-Boulder.After CU he spent a year of R&Ralong Aspen’s slopes and streams, thenpursued a graduate degree in architecture at the University of Michigan.He returned to Aspen in 2004, joiningStudio B as a designer. Within adecade, he’d been hailed as one of thegreats in the state.
“Looking forward to the rest of yourcareer,” one AIA judge wrote.
Two years ago Piché returned to Boulder to open a satellite Studio B office. Helives in an apartment in north Boulder,walking distance from the office.
When eventually he builds a homeof his own, he’ll have an especiallyable thought-partner at hand: Threeyears ago he married grad schoolsweetheart and fellow architectAmanda Christianson.
“We talk a lot about design,” Piché said.
Photos: Derek Skalko (house); headshot courtesy Michael Piché