Location: Wilson, WY
Size: 35 acres (site), 6,000 sq. ft. (building)
Category: Residential

A series of undulating tectonic structures set against an aspen grove near Wilson, Wyoming, this mountain home serves as a creative retreat for a California-based couple. The 35-acre property is set at the base of the Tetons and encompasses several ecosystems, with old-growth forests merging into stands of young pine and aspen trees before transitioning into rolling meadows. The homeowners, authors who also own and manage an independent record label, were looking for a nature-oriented outpost in Wyoming in which to pursue their writing practice.

Composed of three buildings (main house, guest house and writer’s studio), the home is arranged as a set of simple box-like volumes, each designed in response to its specific location. The 6,000-square-foot main house is conceived as a geologic remnant in the landscape, located on the edge between field and forest. The 1,577-square-foot guest house and 580-square-foot writer’s studio are nestled intimately within the wooded environment. A fourth, spiritually focused structure has yet to be built and will be sited further to the south. The architecture is open, with sweeping views of mountain vistas of the Grand Tetons, natural fauna, forests and meadows.

Rectilinear in plan, the main house appears to grab surrounding trees as anchors, sinking in the center and pulling upward toward the sky at the corners. Working in concert with the landscape, this dynamic quality is further through the building’s charred shou sugi ban exterior, tugged and carved to create overhangs and openings. The entrance to the home is located where the structure reaches out over a lowland creek, the relationship revealed by a moment of transparency in the floor. The wood exterior wraps into the interior as light Atlantic cedar, which then dissolves into subtle plaster and floor-to-ceiling glass.

Each window frames a view of the prairie and Teton range beyond. An east-facing fireplace provides a counterpoint to the views, and an intimate courtyard allows southern light to penetrate the center of the home. In addition to the kitchen, living and dining spaces, the home includes three bedrooms, four bathrooms and an expansive mudroom for the client’s Irish wolfhounds.

Wood, steel, bronze, custom-cast white concrete, bleached cedar and oversized slabs of travertine and onyx define the material palette. Italian limestone is highlighted in the primary bath. A custom bathtub, water jet cut from a single block of limestone creates a striking monolithic and sculptural design element.