West Highland Trail House
Wilson, Wyoming
Permitted 2024
Design Team
Brian Messana, Toby O’Rorke, Viktor Nassli and Hanna Medve
Collaborators
Structural Engineer: TYLin
Site and Landscaping: Agrostis
Geotechnical and Site Survey: Nelson Engineering
Mechanical Engineer: Energy 1
Building Envelope Consultant: MW-Skins
Civil Engineers: Valley West
Lighting Designer: Sighte Studio
A couple and their son, dedicated skiers and snowboarders, wanted their seasonal mountain house to reflect their love of nature and be sensitive to its surroundings. We designed the home to be as simple, functional and unobstructive as possible, with a small footprint and low profile. From afar, the structure appears as a mere outcrop amid aspens and pines, as though it were dropped in place. Through the reliance on organic materials, the cabin design is warm yet modern with open rooms anchored by windows that connect the shielding forest. Several dramatic reveals underscore the family’s reverence for the outdoors, including alcoves ending in large, single-paned windows with built-in seating to foster quiet, contemplative moments.
On approach from the winding, gravel drive, the home’s front elevation emerges as a mysterious, dark, monolithic plane, with a lone indentation indicating the entry. The Accoya wood siding is blackened and textured by shou sugi ban to be fire retardant and to blend in with the trees. A flat, sedum roof cantilevers overs the rear elevation to cover a full-length porch with a sunken jacuzzi. The 3,570-square foot, square residence is gradually elevated to five feet to account for the site’s downward grade.
Within the oak-paneled foyer, a horizontal window reveals a 21-foot, square interior courtyard—a third of the house—strengthening its alliance with nature. Throughout the interior, 10-foot-long oiled European oak paneling and 10-inch-wide oak planks for the floor provide a consistent, organic field. The open living room/dining room/kitchen features an indigenous stone fireplace and chimney alongside an oak bookcase. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors blur inside and out, opening to the wide porch. The dining area is situated under a skylight facing the trio of windows exposing the terrarium-like courtyard. The two outer panels slide inward to physically connect the two spaces. In the kitchen, appliances and storage cupboards are hidden behind oak-veneered cabinetry and a marble-lined niche contains the sink and a prep area. A rectangular island, also in marble, accommodates stools for casual dining.
On each side of the great room, two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms are dominated by views through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. While the primary bath includes a marble soaking tub alongside a tall window, the son’s dark marble-clad bathroom has a shower. Between the entry vestibule and the great room, a cross-axis corridor links the guest suite with an ensuite bath with marble soaking tub, powder room, laundry room, and a small office hidden behind oak panels near the entry to the two-car garage.
A barn-style outbuilding is a secondary garage with a carport to stow additional vehicles, boat, snowmobile and outdoor equipment. Complementing the cabin’s design, the structure has a blackened façade and traditional pitched, shingle roof.
While basic, this house performs above its weight. The uniform materials palette, sophisticated functionality, and clean lines make the home feel larger and more luxurious than it is. Simply put, it’s a cabin that encourages its residents to focus on the most important elements of living.
Renderings by Sora
Press
Awards