Jackson Hole – Mountain Architects – Hendricks Architecture

As an architect in a mountain resort community, I’m often asked, “What are the big mountain home developments in the Northwest?” Generally, in terms of mountain homes, I think of the Northwest as Idaho, Western Montana, Western Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. I won’t include Canada for the sake of keeping the list down. You can see our recent blog Mountain Home Developments in British Columbia for that, and include areas in Whistler, BC and Canmore, Alberta on the list. So here are some of the main mountain home developments in the Northwest.

Sandpoint, Idaho is a resort area located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, the biggest lake in the Northwest. Homes and properties surrounding the lake are just starting to be bought and turned into more upscale luxury homes. The Idaho Club is one example of a private mountain home community in Sandpoint, and has a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort has a few mountain neighborhoods, including The Ridge, The Spires, and Mountainside at Schweitzer. Dover Bay, The Crossing at Willow Bay, and Salishan Point are lakefront developments along the Pend Oreille River.

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho boasts Black Rock and Gozzer Ranch on opposite sides of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Black Rock is a private lakefront community and has a Jim Engh designed golf course. The course is often mentioned as one of the finest golf courses in the Northwest, and the Clubhouse is beautiful. Gozzer Ranch has a Tom Fazio designed course. Galena Ridge in Kellogg has a mining theme, set on a golf course below Silver Mountain Resort.

Sun Valley, Idaho has been around forever, so there are big mountain homes everywhere, sometimes mingled with smaller homes. Sun Valley has the original ski resort, and includes the cities of Sun Valley, Ketchum and Hailey. Basically the closer you get to Sun Valley Resort the more upscale they are. A few examples of development occurring on new lots are White Clouds on the northern edge of Sun Valley Resort, and Independence, located about a mile east and up the hill from Sun Valley. White Clouds includes 30 home sites at the northern edge of Sun Valley Resort, bordered by the Sun Valley golf course and open space.

In Western Montana, The Wilderness Club in Eureka, north of Whitefish is a big development with a Nick Faldo designed course. In Whitefish, the area is centered around Whitefish Mountain Resort (formerly Big Mountain), and Whitefish Lake. Iron Horse has been around for a few years and the homes have the rugged, rustic Montana look. Smaller, newer neighborhoods include The Homestead and Elk Highlands. Saddlehorn, in Big Fork on Lake Kalispell is another big development.

The Ranch Club, six miles northwest of Missoula, Montana, has a Les Furber designed course, with 198 custom homesites on 343 acres, 72 townhome & condominium sites, and 95 club lodge sites. In Hamilton, Montana, south of Missoula, is Stockfarm. Stockfarm has a Tom Fazio golf course among it’s 2,600 acres. East of there, Rock Creek Cattle Company outside Deer Lodge has 3 to 110 acre homesteads, and a Tom Doak golf course.

Big Sky, Montana is well known for the Big Sky Resort in the Spanish Peaks. The Big Sky area includes The Yellowstone Club, The Club at Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin, all well known for rugged Montana mountain style homes. The Yellowstone Club is an ultra-exclusive, invitation only private community with it’s own ski area and Tom Weiskopf designed golf course, all on 13,400 acres. The Club at Spanish Peaks also has a Tom Weiskopf designed golf course, as well as private ski lifts to Big Sky Resort. Moonlight Basin is on the north side of Lone Mountain, and the ski resort also accesses Big Sky Resort with the “Lone Peak Ticket”. Moonlight Basin also includes a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course.

Northwestern Wyoming includes Grand Teton National Park, and directly to the north, Yellowstone National Park. The Grand Tetons are one of the most beautiful, picturesque mountain ranges around. Jackson, in the Jackson Hole valley, has always been well known for the rustic mountain resort architecture. Mountain style subdivisions are all over, including Spring Creek Ranch. The Bar BC Ranch has 35 to 53 acre ranch sites on 1,400 acres with world class trout fishing, along with views of the Teton Range, Yellowstone National Park, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Amangani is a newer development with more contemporary mountain architecture.

Washington mountain style neighborhoods include Suncadia Resort and Tumble Creek (formerly known as Trapper’s Creek) in Roslyn, a town a little over an hours drive east of Seattle in the Cascade Mountains. Suncadia is an eco-friendly resort and is the largest 3-star built-green resort community in Washington State. The lodge has 254 luxury guest suites and penthouses. The Methow Valley is also a popular spot for mountain style architecture, and is a very popular cross-country skiing area. One of the trails stretches for 120 miles, one of the longest XC trails in the world.

In Oregon, Bend is becoming a well know spot for the mountain style. Bend is the home of Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors. Jeld-Wen owns several communities, including Suncadia and Galena Ridge described above. They also own Brasada Ranch near Bend. Probably the most upscale resort in Bend is Pronghorn, which includes Signature Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio designed golf courses. The latter has one of the most unique holes in the world – a par three, eighth hole that includes a 45-foot canyon and exposed lava tube.

Hendricks Architecture specializes in the design of luxury mountain style homes and cabins. While it is not the only type of work we design, most of the homes we’ve completed are in mountain resort areas throughout the West. Most of our clients are looking for mountain style homes, often fairly rustic. Feel free to peruse projects and renderings of mountain architecture.

John Hendricks, Architect AIA

Hendricks Architecture, mountain architects located in Sandpoint, Idaho.

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What is Mountain Architecture? The mountain architecture vernacular consists of bold, natural and textured buildings and materials. These buildings should functionally and aesthetically withstand rugged mountainous environments, as well as blend into the topography.

Mountain homes should take advantage of nature by bringing the outdoors in through ample amounts of glazing and natural materials, and by extending indoor living spaces to the outside (outdoor living rooms) with decks, terraces and other exterior areas. A home exterior should look like it has grown out of the site rather than being lowered down from a helicopter. It can take advantage of the surrounding trees, boulders and other landforms by incorporating them into the home and the outdoor living rooms, and designing around them. Interiors should have a good range of natural materials and forms. These are often more rustic than the typical home, and sometimes have an “old world” appearance. Designed tastefully, this will often give the home a “rustic elegance”.

Mountain architecture is organically massed to taper down into the site. Multiple volumes conform to the existing terrain and are in scale with the existing landscape. Large, symmetrical, obtrusive building forms are often avoided. Some single story elements help keep a mountain home residential in scale.

Broad sheltering roofs appear to cascade down in steps or multi-level designs, and protect against winter snow, spring rain and summer sun. Roofs generally have a 4:12 to 12:12 pitch. Depending on the locality, there is little ornamentation. For instance, the rugged, bold architecture of Big Sky and Whitefish in Montana, Telluride, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming may often have less ornamentation and detail than buildings in Vail, Colorado and Lake Tahoe.

Architects who design mountain architecture most often utilize natural materials and warm, earthy colors. Roofs may consist of cedar shakes or slate, sometimes with copper accents. Siding is frequently cedar (boards, shake shingles or logs) and stone. Recycled barn wood is sometimes used for a more rustic look. If wood is to be stained it should let the natural grains show through. The stone should be bigger at the base to give it an anchored and structural appearance. Large mortar joints should be avoided in the mountain style.

In the mountains, columns, beams, rafters and other structural elements are bigger and bolder for protection against heavy snow loads. These are typically douglas fir and/or reclaimed wood, and can be built in timber frame or timber post and beam construction. Windows are typically kept to a minimum on the front elevation, while opening up to broad views on the back or view elevations, which many times have daylight basements to take advantage of the steep slopes. Windows typically have wood or metal clad (aluminum, copper or bronze) frames. These frames can have an aged patina for an older appearance. Garage doors are wood, many times in the carriage style.

Landscaping is also an important element in quality mountain architecture. Home sites should be designed for maximum privacy, minimal visibility, minimized grading and disruption of natural drainage. Sites are kept natural by containing water runoff, and enhancing the natural landforms and vegetation. Smart design should keep retaining walls to a minimum, both to preserve a natural look as well as save on costs. These retaining walls are most often natural stone. Vegetation will help these walls blend into the site.

Other landscape elements include native hardscaping (patios, walkways), and minimal walls, fences and gates. When these are incorporated they should look open and natural, and relate to the building. A good architect or landscape architect should know of some good tricks here for the benefits of privacy and the homeowner’s personal tastes. Driveways are often natural materials such as stone, but are more cost effective with concrete (colored, stamped, aggregate), pre-cast pavers, or asphalt.

Mountain style architecture has similar elements to other vernaculars. These include Montana ranch, rustic western style, Adirondack, and historic logging and mining styles. Craftsman/Arts & Crafts, Chalet, Prairie, Japanese and even Tuscan elements can be incorporated into the mountain style if done tastefully.

Mountain Architecture generally occurs in the mountains of the West, and in pockets of the Northeast and Southeast. In the West, besides the previously mentioned Vail, Jackson Hole, Big Sky, Whitefish, Telluride and Lake Tahoe, other areas with mountain style homes include Sun Valley, Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint and Priest Lake in Idaho, Aspen, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Durango and Crested Butte in Colorado, and Park City in Utah. In Southwestern Canada, Whistler is by far the most popular mountain resort area, and hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics. Canmore in Alberta is popular with it’s close proximity to Banff, and was the site of the nordic events when Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.

For further information, please also see our blog post Origins of Mountain Architecture in America.

Feel free to peruse more mountain architecture photos and renderings. Hendricks Architecture specializes in the design of luxury mountain style homes and cabins, and has been listed yearly among Mountain Living’s top mountain architects. We try to add a little bit of soul into each home, to reflect the personalities and wishes of the homeowners. Most of the homes we’ve completed are in mountain resort areas throughout the West.

John Hendricks, AIA Architect

Hendricks Architecture, mountain architects located in Sandpoint, Idaho.

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