You Can Ski Right Into the Living Room of This Mountain Retreat

ByMyProperty Life

Faulkner Architects creates an expansive home on a challenging mountain slope.

The home is located in Martis Camp in Truckee, California, north of Lake Tahoe.

Imagine being able to ski straight from the slopes to the comfort of your mountainside home. That’s the reality that Faulkner Architects built for an active Northern California family.

Seeking a retreat for themselves and extended relatives, the clients purchased a densely forested north-facing lot on a steep, nearly 30-degree slope adjacent to a ski run and a lodge. The tough site presented challenges, and the unforgiving mountain weather called for a durable, time-proven material palette.

The Lookout House was constructed over a span of five years from start to finish.
Read another article:Design Trends for Creating a Vacation Vibe at Home

The Lookout House was constructed over a span of five years from start to finish.

Photo: Joe Fletcher

Although the multivolume home has a large footprint of over 7,000 square feet, it evokes “the feeling of a smaller ski cabin with one singular space for cooking and dining,” Faulkner says. “You just feel the size of the gathering space.”

Read another article:Hot Trends: 20 Best Farmhouse Style Kitchens in White and Wood

The roof “tilts up to the mountains and down to the valley like a visor, while the main home mirrors the ski run to the east side of the property, so the home has a central axis that runs up through it,” he says.

Nestled within a forested site, the home is the perfect getaway for a family and their relatives and friends.

Nestled within a forested site, the home is the perfect getaway for a family and their relatives and friends. 

Photo: Joe Fletcher

Read another article:Revamped Small Barcelona Apartment Combines Multiple Styles and Finishes

The home’s minimalist material palette consists of concrete, glass, walnut, and basalt. Large, 20-foot-long insulated concrete walls carve into the site to hold back the earth. Inside, full-height sliding glass doors connect the home with the surrounding mountains and the ski run and meadow below. Light pours into an outdoor space south of the living room, where the family can sit on pleasant evenings.

The home is located in Martis Camp in Truckee, California, north of Lake Tahoe.

The home is located in Martis Camp in Truckee, California, north of Lake Tahoe. 

Photo: Joe Fletcher

See the full story on Dwell.com: You Can Ski Right Into the Living Room of This Mountain Retreat
Related stories:

  • A $70K Remodel Turns a Tiny Oregon Cabin Into an Idyllic Home for a Family of Four
  • A Soulful Renovation in Santa Barbara Brings the Mountains Front and Center
  • An Australian Home Nods to Oscar Niemeyer With Curvaceous Concrete Forms

Similar Posts

  • Timeless Opulence: 20 Victorian Kitchens with Modern Functionality

    An era that was defined by opulence, a brazen show of wealth and power and born out of deep English traditions that have been altered as they spread to different corners of the globe – Victorian period is one that instantly conjures up images of opulence. Its influence on home design can be seen in […]

    You’re reading Timeless Opulence: 20 Victorian Kitchens with Modern Functionality, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

  • Lirio 7

    Located in a quiet street in one of the most emblematic neighborhoods in Mexico City, this project is an intervention that has its roots on the understanding of the urban and social dynamics in Mexico City. Lirio 7 has an interesting history; as an Art Déco building, originally housed public baths during the 30s, then in the 50s became a sanatorium, and before its abandonment, it was the headquarters of a security company. Considering this conditions, we took advantage from an abandoned building without any recognized heritage value by local authorities, to restore it and offer a specific model of housing that recovers the historical value of Santa María La Ribera neighborhood. The design process is based on the concept of a central patio and its perimeter circulation, which was adapted into a new layout to create 12 new apartments where the main corridor becomes part of the home. In this type of buildings, this circulation is a public place and the challenge on making it private leads to define an enclosure that plays with the visuals. The dwellings are arranged around the patio, orienting their view to it, which is considered as a place of introspection, not so much as circulation. Concrete elements of different heights acts as planters, dampen the sound of the water from the recovered fountain and support the discourse of circulations, interposing themselves to the visuals, again to guide and give privacy to the user. Each of the houses therefore has ventilation and daylight entrance. The first and second floors have a greater free height, typical of the original construction moment, allowing a greater volume of use of spaces. The third level, from the 50s as well as the new structures implemented on deck, maintain a standard height more like that the required by current construction regulations. A perforated concrete prism, outstands from the patio’s façade, creating a visual contrast without stealing it protagonism. With a different materiality and density from the rest of the project, this volume patches the view from the outside, creating a light and shadows game towards the last apartment, and allows the user to enjoy the views.