SADDLE BUTTE RESIDENCE
Classical country home with a sculptural entry grand staircase
Jackson, Wyoming • 8,000 sq. ft.
Design Team: Kurt Dubbe, AIA; John Fabian, Nery Ortiz
Click the video below for a brief exterior tour.
Growing up in a David Adler home in the north side of Chicago, the client has maintained strong memories of comfortable, traditional architecture and the unique characteristics of her mid-western heritage. A long-time resident of Jackson Hole in western Wyoming, and an active leader in bringing renowned classical music to the area through the Grand Teton Music Festival, the client engaged DMA to work with her to create her dream home. Drawing inspiration and classical references of country homes from such early 20th century notable as David Adler and Charles Platt, and more recently, Robert Stern and Allan Greenberg, we set about designing her home. We were challenged with integrating all project scope objectives within the context of a steep site with limited access, Compounding the challenges of a rugged site with building in a high seismic zone with considerable snow and wind loads while working with dimensional boundaries of building setbacks and height limits was difficult to overcome. With the unflagging support of the client, a connoisseur of interior design, the design and construction teams succeeded in completing this beautiful project.
The entry gallery leading to a grand staircase connecting three levels recognizes strong design references to the above-mentioned notables early twentieth century residential portfolio.
The dining room off of the main entry gallery, and supported by the adjacent servery, kitchen and larder, is primarily organized around a very complex circular ornamental plaster ceiling. Its center supports a multi-armed antique Venetian chandelier directly over a custom mahogany dining table. Design references for the plaster ceiling were inspired by the ceiling at Sir John Soane’s house in London, along with some stylistic acknowledgements of the Paris Opera House by Charles Garnier. The geometric and radial organization of the ornamental plaster ceiling fulfills the client’s desire to marry the past with the present. In alignment with the Entry Gallery, the dining room axis is terminated with a custom Zuber panel evoking a soft pastoral scene, and is flanked with views overlooking the distant mountains and landscape.
Placed around a three story curvilinear structural steel armature, the staircase is finished with Italian limestone radial treads and risers. At the initiating treads at both lower level and main level, gentle pulvinated nosing profiles soften one’s accent. At the extrados, the outside curved surfaces of the stair hall, wall surfaces are finished with traditional three-coat integral color Venetian plaster. At the intrados, the inside curved surfaces of the stair hall, stringer and integrated curved rail wall is surmounted with a continuous custom brass handrail visually uniting all three stories together. At the lower level the stair terminates with a tightly spiraled volute. The underside of the stairs is a smooth un-interrupted warped plane of skillfully placed and finished plaster conveying a very light and sculptural composition.
Partially buried in the mountain, the house is organized on three principal levels vertically, with a central focus on the main stairs and associated stair halls at each level. The living room, dining room, master bedroom, library, and office all have framed views of the distant Teton Mountain Range. Design intentions include somewhat formal living in a traditional mountain setting, generous public spaces for family living and occasional entertaining, and complimented with a few smaller, more intimate spaces.
Exterior materials include native stone base, horizontal wood and shingle siding, pre-cast stone entablatures and pilasters, and copper roof. Interior materials include stone tile and wood floors, plaster walls and ceilings, and painted wood profiles throughout. Innovative, high-performance mechanical and electrical, and lighting systems where integrated within a traditional aesthetic.