Beautiful home or eyesore? Controversial home made of glass cubes for sale in Vail
Beautiful home or total eyesore?
Vail is stuffed with sprawling European-style chateaus that could just as easily be found overlooking a winding river in the Black Forest as they could in Colorado. But Michael Tennenbaum, a California-based financier, didn't want one of those for his vacation home.
Instead, he opted for a modern, cubed glass home that looks more like it belongs in Q*bert than in Vail. (This was less of a dated reference when the home was designed almost 30 years ago.) Click here or on a photo for a slideshow.
Neighbors were rankled, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Tennenbaum's home, with its aqua steel beams, floor-to-ceiling glass windows and expansive floor space, was approved.
Now the controversial 5,132-square-foot home is on the market for the first time, asking $13.9 million.
Although many more modern abodes now join it in Vail, this is one of a kind -- and likely to remain that way.
The director of community development told the Wall Street Journal that the home probably wouldn't be approved under today's building codes because it's too glassy. (Click here or on a photo for a slideshow.)
The lavish five-story house was designed by California architect Ed Niles, known for his uniquely modern glass-walled homes, and it sits on a quarter-acre surrounded by mountains.
In addition to a glass great room, formal dining area and five bedrooms with connected bathrooms, the home also includes the standard Vail fare: a wet bar, split-level seating area, steam shower, sauna, two-car garage, radiant-heated marble floors (the driveway and granite steps leading to the street are heated too), a maid's room and a huge central fireplace.
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