Residential Walk-Through

Indian Springs Ranch Residence
Jackson, Wyoming

Eric Logan, AIA
Carney Architects
Jackson, Wyoming

By Nora Burba Trulsson

Photography by Matthew Millman

Set against a grove of cottonwoods, the home blends modernist sensibilities with a traditional Western silhouette.

Even if you’ve never been to Jackson, Wyoming, it’s easy to understand that the architectural vernacular of this valley town at the base of the rugged Teton Range is, well, rustic. “The Jackson look is logs and antlers,” admits architect Eric Logan, a partner with Carney Architects, “and the traditional color is brown.”

Several years ago, when a transplanted couple from New York contacted the architectural firm to design a reductive, modern family home for them in Jackson, Logan knew that the couple’s modernist sensibilities would be in sync with those of Carney Architects. The issue at hand, however, would be acceptance of the design by the homeowners’ association of the community where the couple had purchased a five-acre site.

“We had to get the homeowners’ design review committee to understand that this proposed home wasn’t going to be a spaceship plopped down in the middle of their log homes,” says Logan.

Tweaking the design’s original starting point, Logan came up with a design that met the community’s design guidelines and gave the clients the modern home they desired.

The design breaks the home’s 6,400-square-foot floorplan into three gable-roof volumes, evoking a traditional Western silhouette. Logan, working with Carney Architects colleague Andy Ankeny, AIA, as project manager, tucked the home against a grove of cottonwood trees, which both anchors the house and serves as a scaling device. The siting also takes advantage of a dry wash that bisects the flat property, allowing the entry to the house to incorporate a crossing over the wash.

In plan, the home’s functions are separated into the three volumes. The one-story living pavilion includes open living, dining and kitchen spaces. The two connected, two-story volumes contain the private areas of the home--a garage and upper-level master suite in one, and guest quarters and upper-level bedrooms for the homeowners’ young children in the other. A first-floor library, open to an upper-level gallery-style home office, connects all three volumes.

Materials and scale are major elements of the home’s exterior and interior. Cast-in-place, earth-hued concrete walls connect the home’s first level to the site. Cedar siding, treated to mellow into silvery color, clads the second story. A standing-seam copper roof with deep overhangs adds a sheltering element, but was deliberately slimmed down from the area’s traditional roof forms. “We wanted the roofline to be thin, light and elegant,” says Logan, “not thick and chunky.”

The exterior is further detailed with several copper-clad “bump-outs,” or projections. Two on the upper level contain portions of the home office and master bath respectively, while a first-floor projection pushes a living room window seat into the site. Additionally, the
front porch, reached by a low-key crossing over the wash, is marked by the rhythm of columns and exposed steel beams, a crisper, more modern alternative to logs.

Some of exterior materials are repeated indoors. The cast-in-place concrete walls form “containers” in the living pavilion for a powder room and closet near the entry and a wine cellar and pantry by the kitchen. First-level flooring is stained concrete, while wood flooring warms the upper-level bedrooms. The living pavilion is marked by a high, hemlock-clad ceiling, with an exposed and detailed structural system. Throughout, wood-framed windows and doors open to the outdoors and bring in an abundance of natural light. The kitchen’s dramatic appeal comes in large part from the use of sleek Bulthaup cabinetry and stainless steel countertops.

Magni Design of Los Angeles worked with the architects and clients to select furniture, art and accessories for the home, which is a full-time residence for the family. Using a neutral palette, the interior design team chose graceful, unfussy furnishings with both traditional and modern lines, deftly blending both New York and Wyoming sensibilities. The team also created several custom light fixtures for the living and dining spaces.

The completed home envelopes the homeowners in site-appropriate modernism and functions as a welcoming backdrop for a busy family lifestyle.

Says Logan,“If you stand out in the field and squint your eyes, the house looks Western. The experience, though, is different. The house is crisp, clean and light-filled. It’s not what you expect.”

Architecture: Carney Architects, 215 S. King St., Jackson, WY 83002; (307) 733-4000 or www.carneyarchitects.com.
Interior design: Magni Design, Inc., 8687 Melrose Ave., Suite B273, Los Angeles, CA 90069; (310) 623-1623 or www.magnidesign.com.
Builder: On Site Management, Jackson, WY; (307) 733-0733.
Windows and doors: Albertini, www.albertini.com.
Kitchen cabinetry: Bulthaup, www.bulthaup.com.