Summit House - Ski Cabin

(winning competition)

Eden, UT

The summit community’s mantra of ‘innovation, entrepreneurship, arts and altruism’ challenges this home to turn heads yet seemlessly blend into it’s environment.   You and i, taking a walk or driving through the pass, may not even notice a house, yet it calls to us to come play.  This is every skier, hiker, artist, yogi, squirrel-suit jumping - wine loving - adventure seeking - family man or woman’s home away from home.

And this home also just happens to be a non-intrusive, environmentally concious, ski cabin with an architectural pedigree and great views.  No design decision can be arbitrary when boasting such a claim, and every move strives to be rooted in the sustainable, the artistically simple.  Design elements serve two or three functions. Heres a few:

- Repurposed timber siding is oriented to    minimize east/west sun and connects building to nature

-   A sloping roof: naturally drains / collects rainwater in 3 seasons; is used to ski out into backcountry in the winter; and connects building to nature (see a pattern?)

- Excavated earth from the submerged portion of the building (housing water collecting cisterns) is used to structurally support the cabin’s better half. In turn, this minimizes the cabin’s physical footprint, allows uninterrupted drainage / wildlife movement, and...Yes you got it...

...And so this home is built for those diehards (inspired by them in fact) who see the mountain as a way of life.  For those who want to make an impact for the better and to have a little fun while doing it.  Is that possible you ask?  Well don’t ask me, but i’d like to find out...