Extreme site conditions drove the design of House at 9,000 Feet, a rounded dwelling by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects in the American West supported by stilts and accessed via a bridge.
The ski dwelling is located in an undisclosed spot in the Intermountain Region in the western US. The project's name ? House at 9,000 Feet ? stems from the home's perch on a mountaintop at 9,000 feet (2,743 metres) above sea level.
House at 9,000 Feet is supported by stilts
Designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, which is based in Nova Scotia, the house responds to the "extreme" site conditions and climate.
"A 30 per cent slope across the site combined with an annual snowfall of 40 feet, resulted in a strategy of ?floating' the building on stilts and accessing it via a bridge," the team said. The elliptical home is accessed via a bridge
In form, the building's shape is an "extruded ellipse" that sits atop stilts and a concrete box.
Along the entrance elevation, the long, rounded mass ? which stretches 100 feet in length (30 metres) ? is conjoined with a box angling downward.
White ash flooring can be found throughout the dwelling
The house is mostly framed with steel.
"Given the site access constraints, the amount of concrete was kept to a minimum," the team said. "Except for the concrete core, this is a steel-framed, bridge-like structure, supported by steel columns."
A skylit staircase descends to the main level
For cladding, ...