Ski House – Alta Utah
4400 SF house under construction. The house is designed to withstand the considerable lateral forces and snow loads in Alta. The wall, floors and roof are all reinforced poured in place board form concrete. Its unique location will allow for true ski-in / ski-out when complete. The house is being built for a couple who live in Manhattan and travel to Alta frequently. Alta was founded about 1865 to house miners from the Emma mine, the Flagstaff mine, and other silver mines in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Sensationally rich silver ore in the Emma mine enabled its owners to sell the mine at an inflated price to British investors in 1871. An 1878 fire and an 1885 avalanche destroyed most of the original mining town, though some mining activity persisted into the 20th century. By the 1930s, only one resident, George Watson, remained in the town. Facing back taxes on mining claims he owned, Watson donated much of the land in Alta to the U.S. Forest Service. Watson stipulated that the Forest Service use the land to construct a ski area. In 1935, Norwegian skiing legend Alf Engen was hired to help develop the area, and Alta opened its first ski lift in 1938.
Info
- Architect: DHD
- DHD lead architects:
- Steven Wakenshaw / Jill Diamant
- Local architect: Steve Simmons
- Structural Engineers: Bsumek Wu
- Civil Engineering: Brian Ward
- Landscape Design: Shalae Larsen
- Lighting Design: Alina Ainza, Ray Studio NYC
- Photography: Brooke McGowan
- www.brookemcgowan.com
