Intermountain Region, USA
‘House at 9,000 Feet’ by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects is situated on a mountaintop overlooking a stunning view.
Located in the Intermountain Region of the United States (an area between Utah, Nevada, western Wyoming, and southern Idaho), the house is perched on a mountaintop at 9000 feet above sea level.
The house’s unique design is a composition of volumes that merge into one building, creating a distinctive approach to mountain architecture.
The five-bedroom ski house consists of 4,400 square feet of inhabited space plus a garage and mechanical space.
One arrives above the house from the road, looking over the roof to the mountains beyond and both pedestrians and vehicles access the house by a perforated steel bridge.
Upon entering, one descends a transparent stair lit by a skylight above. From a low foyer, one enters the monumental great room with a high, curved cedar ceiling. The south side of the house offers a continuous 88-foot-long window seat, which passively controls solar heat gain and frames the spectacular southern views.
At the western end of the house, a covered deck provides sunset views toward the valley below.
The best bedroom and media room occupy the east end of the house. The single board form concrete ‘core’ contains four guest bedrooms across two levels. The ground level offers a ski-in/ski-out amenity.
Formally, the house is a 100-foot-long extruded ellipse clad with red cedar both inside and out (liner and rainscreen). Except for the concrete ‘core’, this is a steel-framed bridge-like structure, supported by steel columns. Given the site access constraints, the amount of concrete was kept to a minimum.
A 24-foot-long soapstone hearth-kitchen island anchors the great room. The flooring and millwork throughout the house are clear white ash.
The environmental ethic that drives this minimalist project is to “touch the land lightly.”
The architects developed the house in response to its extreme site conditions and climate.
A 30 percent slope across the site combined with an annual snowfall of 40 feet, resulted in a strategy of ‘floating’ the building on stilts and accessing it via a bridge.
Southern exposure provided spectacular views of the valley below and nearby mountaintops, as well as a passive solar strategy.
The arid, high desert climate presented challenges with heat gain, especially in the winter with the low sun reflecting off the snow. The location also has some of the highest wind loads in the United States.
Project: House at 9,000 Feet
Architects: MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd.
Lead Architect: Brian Mackay-Lyons
Design Team: Matthew Bishop, Izak Bridgman, Alastair Bird, Isaac Fresia, Ben Fuglevand, Sawa Rostkowska, Diana Carl, Jesse Martyn, Lucas McDowell, Jennifer Esposito, Colby Rice, Ryan DeWolde, and Reid Joslin
Structural Engineer: Blackwell Structural Engineers
Mechanical Engineer: Harris Dudley Co
Electrical Engineer: BNA Consulting
Civil Engineer: Talisman Civil Consultants
Geotechnical Consultant: Intermountain Geoenvironmental Services Inc
Builder: Edge Builders
Photographer: Nic Lehoux
