Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab

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Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab

Information

  • Project Name: Owl Creek Ski House
  • Practice: Skylab
  • Completion year: 2015
  • Gross Built up Area: 4200 ft²
  • Project Location: Snowmass
  • Country: United States
  • Lead Architects/Designer: Jeff Kovel, Brent Grubb, Nathan Cox
  • Design Team: Project Architect: Joe Bashaw
  • Structural Consultants: Mountain Design Group
  • MEP Consultants: Resource Engineering Group and Architectural Engineering Consultants
  • Landscape Consultants: Artifex
  • Contractors: Ridge Runner Construction
  • Project Manager: Mark Nye
  • Interior + Furniture: Studio Lambiotte, LLC.
  • Photo Credits: Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann
  • Others: Visualization: Ben Porto, Josh Ashcroft, Geotechnical and Soils Engineer: CTL Thompson Incorporated, Lighting: Lighting Workshop, Inc. , Theatrical/AV: Ambient Automation & Performance Electronics, Land use entitlements consultant: Manchester Architects
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Excerpt: Owl Creek Ski House by Skylab is built on the idea that a physical place can deepen the connections between friends, families, and nature. The idea was to create a number of common areas with a lodge-like feel, all surrounded by locally sourced, naturally worn materials, with minimal visual distinction from the outdoors. This home emphasises improving and reviving social ties and fostering connections to the local environment.

Project Description

Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann

[Text as submitted by architect] Perched on the hillside with panoramic views of Snowmass Mountain, the Owl Creek residence was built on the idea that a physical place can deepen the connections between friends, families, and the natural world.

Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
Site Plan © Skylab
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann

The project vision included creating a collection of lodge-like communal spaces surrounded by naturally weathered and local materials, providing an abundance of access to natural light, and minimising visual separation from the outdoors. This 4,500-square-foot, all-weather mountain retreat is about enhancing and recharging social relations and maximising connections to the native environment.

Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
Section © Skylab
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
Ground Floor Plan © Skylab
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann

Site constraints were central to the design response, ultimately informing the spatial concept to triangulate the structure while working with the existing sloping terrain. It turned the strict height limitations and slope constraints of the site into an advantage by anchoring the structure into the landforms.

Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
Elevation and Views © Skylab
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann

The structure frames powerful views through two principal façades, maximising the visual connection to the landscape at every angle. Strategic decisions in the frame and form allowed for efficiencies and functional benefits, including a triangular structural steel frame with car decking to minimise costs through prefabrication and a roof slope to move water and snow downslope.

Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
First Floor Plan © Skylab
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann

Finishes and interior relationships (featuring a palette with wood, stone, and weathering steel) were carefully crafted to draw the scenic landscape inward and extend the outdoor deck living experience. A central spiralling split-level arrangement allows for the living room, fireplace, bar, and lounge to feel like intimate spaces with a communal energy. Terracing theatre seating maximises space within the stairwell, working with the topography.

Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann
Owl Creek Ski House | Skylab
© Robert Reck, Stephen Miller, Jeremy Bittermann

Compact and efficient private sleeping wings open to expansive outdoor views at the lower level. Exterior spaces open interior activity to the outdoors, including a triangular spa with an elevated deck and an expansive outdoor terrace right off of the kitchen. The Owl Creek residence provides a platform to gather in a shared living environment connected to their surroundings with purpose, deepening family connections.

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