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
[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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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