PEAK TIME

A holiday house in the Montana mountains scales new heights to create a fresh perspective on communing with the natural landscape

- PHOTOGRAPHY: DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN US DIRECTOR: MICHAEL REYNOLDS WRITER: DIANA BUDDS

Landscape is a recurring theme in the narrative of the American west: rivers slicing through mountain ranges, prairies that turn gold in summer, and foliage that transitions into red, orange and yellow in autumn. It’s no wonder that the American modernists created architecture that deferred to this scenery. Joseph Esherick, one of the movement's most influential practitioners, often said that ‘the ideal kind of building is one you don't see’. Meanwhile, Frank Lloyd Wright mused that homes should be ‘of the hill’, as opposed to being perched on top of it, a statement that signals respect for the natural world.

These tenets continue to influence architecture today, especially with a new 16,000 sq ft holiday home in Big Sky, Montana, designed by Walker Warner Architects and Gachot Studios. ‘Context really challenges us to think about architecture in a very site-based way,’ says Brooks Walker, co-founder of Walker Warner, a San Francisco-based practice known for its elegant projects in California, Hawaii and the Rocky Mountain states that reflect distinct regional terroir. ‘How to bring a fresh perspective to each project is the challenge that gets us up in the morning’