This story was originally published in Builder.
For Texas-based Lake|Flato, good architecture prevails when a building is in its right place and pared down to its simplest form. So when Lone Mountain Land Company tapped the architects, who are oft-revered for their commitment to environmentally thoughtful design that’s also landscape responsive, to conceptualize a small resort community of cabins at the gateway to Yellowstone National Park in Big Sky, Mont., they responded with two modest floor plans—relatively compact in the shadow of their neighboring mansionettes—that could work in a variety of site conditions.
Perched amid a hilly pocket dotted with Lodgepole pines at Big Sky’s Moonlight Basin community, 16 modern cabins measuring up to 1,534 square feet take cues from old world European chalets that were designed to reflect the spirit of the mountain and the activities and gatherings that take place there.
“There’s a commonsense simplicity in the way [they] worked with snow—the Scandinavians, the Swedes, the Swiss—Europeans selected materials and formed structures that fit into the environment in a lovely, seamless way,” says Bob Harris, partner at Lake|Flato. “That’s the sort of aesthetic we wanted—something simple and pure.”
Several weeks were spent walking the community’s footprint alongside landscape architects and local contractor Teton Heritage Builders to jigsaw together a site plan that flips and rotates each home’s orientation to optimize panoramic vantages of the resort’s Lone Mountain and Ulery’s Lake and create pockets of privacy among neighbors. The architects placed the private spaces of the homes in sections where trees were abundant on both the primary and lower floors, and framed the communal spaces with jutting, open views that overlook the slopes and peaks.
“People tire of a distant view relatively quickly. An intimate view—of critters, changing lights, and foliage—fosters a connection with the landscape,” says Harris, who leads the eco-conservation studio at Lake | Flato.
To minimize structural disturbances to the sightlines, the architects topped off the homes with two forms for variation: a simple shed roof and a gable-formed roof, each following the topography of the footprint upon which each house sits, and blending into the landscape to protect views from higher up the mountain. The simple gables team with durable materials to weather the elements, benefitting from a shape that does not trap snow in spots susceptible to leaks, and broad overhangs shed snow away from the bases of the buildings. To keep heating costs down, the architects framed the homes with insulated thermal barriers and double-paned windows.
The cabins’ dark exterior stain is meant to blend with the surrounding tree trunks of the site’s 70-year-old trees, and inland cedar adds warmth to the interior ceilings. Inside the “utilitarian” floor plans, the minimalist kitchen, living, and dining rooms benefit from the airiness of the home’s picture windows and lack of excess walls.
Both plans, measuring 1,389 square feet and 1,534 square feet, are fitted with two bedrooms plus a bunk room, elevated rear decks, and two-and-a-half or three baths. Most of each home’s square footage is devoted to where its residents will spend the majority of their waking hours. The comforts of the spacious great room center on gatherings, cooking, and dining, which are major social activities in the mountains, especially in the evenings.
Rather than implementing an oversized kitchen that often replaces the living room, the architects kept the cooking space efficient, and combined the dining, living, and cooking spaces into a unified, open room that’s positioned adjacent to a generous deck that flows from the living space to the outdoors. Furnishings and interior accents, selected in collaboration between the buyers and Portland-based Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, keep the home’s objects at an intimate scale, and pull the main pieces along the outer perimeter of the living space to open up its center.
Storage is one feature the architects didn’t cut back on. A combined mudroom and foyer welcomes residents and visitors with a place to hang up skis and park boots, and basement compartments are ideal for storing seasonal goods. “People living and recreating in mountains need an abundance of storage, so we created generous flex-use spaces in the lower level that accommodate snow gear, boats, bikes, and all of the other objects that come in and out of cabins like these,” says Lake|Flato associate partner Matt Wallace.
The bedrooms, however, were a study in efficiency: “We added space to the great rooms by being very thoughtful with every square foot we put into the bedrooms, and considering how they could function,” says Harris, who designed the downstairs bunk room to combine play and rest, ensuring space around the bunk beds allows for activities and games. On the main level, the master suite provides just enough space between the adults and children, and a well-placed entryway separates the room from the home’s primary living space.
The concept has hit home with buyers: All 16 cabins sold prior to completion, and one has already been flipped for nearly 50% more than the price at which it originally sold.
“We wanted to create a simple platform for enjoying the mountain, inspired by the roots of what we consider alpine living,” says Harris. “It all reflects back to how to live more with less.”
Project: Ulery’s Lake Cabins
Location: Big Sky, Mont.
Architect: Lake| Flato, San Antonio
Builder: Teton Heritage Builders, Gallatin Gateway, Mont.
Developer: Lone Mountain Land Company, Big, Sky
Interior Designer: Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, Portland, Ore.
Size: 1,389 to 1,534 square feet
Site Size: 0.1 acre
Price: From $1 million
This story was originally published in Builder.
