Summit Powder Mountain cabin design winner shows "how to build responsibly at 8,400 ft"

The Summit Powder Mountain competition invited architects, engineers, artists, and students to envision designs for the ideal mountain residential community in Utah's Wasatch Range. At an altitude of 8,400 feet atop 10,000 acres of untouched land, the houses are required to be sustainably built with natural materials that humbly complement the landscape specific to the mountain range. Summit organized the competition to discover how the American mountain community can be remodeled for the future.

The winning proposal, “The Wooden Tents” by Slovenia-based architect Srdan Nad, will serve as the guiding architectural prototype for the Powder Mountain development, which will consist around 500 single-family homes, according to Summit. The first-prize winner will also get to go on a trip to the big Summit at Sea event in the Caribbean next month to present their design concept.

Check out "The Wooden Tents" below.

Project description:

"The competition sought submissions for a structure of up to 2,500 square feet (230m²), which will be located on a 12-degree sloped site at Summit Powder Mountain. The community is to consist of nearly 500 single-family home sites, clusters of small dwellings, and a lively village center on 10,000 acres of untouched land...

There is something poetic seeing a temporary settlement for Summit Series Events on Powder Mountain made up from simple white tents. A tent is a simple structure, a thin cloth pitched to create habitable space and offer basic protection from the weather." 

"The architecture of The Wooden Tents concept is based on the notion that a tent-like feeling should be preserved while making a permanent habitable structure. To emphasize the lightness of the structure, a thin skin (1.5' thick / 40 cm) made from cross-laminated wooden prefabricated panels is being folded over to crate interior space of the cabins. 

The missing sides, leftovers from the folding process are covered by large glass walls. In contrary to the lightness of the folded skin, a typical American vernacular element, a stone chimney set on the side of the building, is being reinterpreted as a support for the whole structure that is lifted from the ground. On one side the cabin leans form a deck and on the other it is supported by the chimney." 

"The whole concept allows for a multiple cabin sizes to be developed from a simple one bedroom structure to a large three or four bedroom luxury cabins. Even customizations are  welcomed, from floor plan changes to a facade choice. In the entire wish is to avoid a 'cookie cutter' community yet preserve a singular concept thought."

"Sustainability is achieved on two fronts: 

By design, cabins don't require large earth excavations. All the supporting elements (a chimney and a deck) have small footprint and require minimal foundations. The elevated structure suggests a notion of living in nature rather than creating your own piece of paradise.  In this way, natural elements are preserved. 

By technology, the cabin structure is made from cross-laminated panels with fully integrated pluming electrical connections. On the structure itself, a thick layer of insulation is installed. The heat pump and other technical machinery are housed within the chimney structure. Large glass walls allow sun energy to enter the cabin and heat the interior. The glass walls are made from triple glazed glass panels. The intention is for cabins to certified with European passive home standard and American LEED standard."

The competition jury featured Todd Saunders of Saunders Architecture and Jenny Wu of Oyler Wu Collaborative.

All images courtesy of Srdan Nad.