EAGLE’S VIEW RESIDENCE

Vistas for a traditional home design

Jackson Hole, Wyoming  •  3,400 sq. ft.

Design Team: Chris Moulder, AIA; Kevin Noble

Click below for an exterior and interior tour.

Our client came to DMA via a mutual friend and presented us with a property located high on a little swale between two prominent ridges with views to the east overlooking the “whole of Jackson Hole.” 

The property was beautiful, in terms of its view potential, however our site analysis revealed the preferred building site, between the two ridges, had soil that was composed of an accumulation of millions of years of windblown, very fine, silty material and clay, resulting in an unstable base for construction. The site would therefore require a substantial foundation for the house to ensure it would not slide down the mountain in case of a natural event such as an earthquake. (Tremors and earthquakes are felt often in the area since the dramatic topography which draws people to Jackson Hole is the result of a fault that created the Teton Mountain range.) The engineering solution for this home entailed placing deep helical piers into the ground along with installing a significant footer system to support the building.

Understanding the client's needs and vision, we designed a somewhat traditional home but with an openness from large-span windows that took advantage of the panoramic vistas across the valley and the Snake River. With the topography being so steep, we placed the structure lower on the property in order to make space for the driveway above it.

Also, because of the sloped terrain, we didn't want the house to act like a dam blocking winter snow melt and storm water run-off, particularly because of the presence of a basement. To avoid this problem, a covered bridge was created from the garage to the main house, allowing for all sheet drainage to pass through the house footprint easily. The addition of landscaping with rocks and other materials creates a lovely occasional creek in the spring, and after summer and fall storms.

Two main design features our client wished us to incorporate into the living room were a large gable end radius window, and timber trusses, which he called “the arches”. His description of these components led us to design the bottom chord of the truss and the radius of the window to relate to each other.

To take advantage of south facing views, windows were placed on two adjacent walls, allowing sunlight to flood the stairwell area and even allowing natural light into the basement as well

A long partially covered porch faces the east, open to wide views and wonderful sunlight exposure; the owner can go out to enjoy a beautiful summer day or even a winter one with a hot cup of coffee. Noteworthy is the lack of an exterior staircase, an intentional omission due to the abundance of wildlife including bears and mountain lions. It was important to limit their access to the grounds around the house and not encourage them to pay our client a visit in the living room! A final special detail appears in winter when the trees have lost their leaves – one can see the Grand Teton peaking just above the north ridge next to the house.

To add some rustic appeal, Farmers Stone was used both on the base of some exterior walls and at the base of columns both outside and on the inside in the living and dining room. All wood trim is made of alder and the flooring is of dark stained hickory. To keep the kitchen bright, Typhoon Bordeaux granite counter tops were the best choice, along with sand colored tiles for the backsplash.

Our client is very happy with his new home. He reports loving spending time on the deck, which was a very important element in the program. He feels his house is a delight in any season, with superb unrestricted views towards Jackson Hole and the Gros Ventre Wilderness mountains to the East.