An Energy-Efficient Getaway on a Steep Site in Ski Country
An architect-contractor and his family create a passive house near Park City, Utah
Many developers probably would have deemed this steeply sloped site unbuildable. But architect and contractor Chris Price loves a challenge. His goal of designing the ski country getaway in Park City, Utah, to meet Passive House standards created a black-diamond degree of difficulty, because it meant the home would have to use at least 75% less energy than a house built to code. But working with the slope inspired a striking house composed of stacked forms and helped him meet his passive-house goals. Here’s how.
A Rotating Modern Stack
Each of the home’s four levels rotates 20 degrees from the one beneath to open it up to different views and break up the facade. “The house steps and rotates up the hillside. It’s kind of like a twisting Jenga stack,” Price says.
The style of the home is modern and responds to the trees around it. Price chose dark-stained red cedar lap siding, oriented the boards vertically and varied 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch pieces in a random pattern to mimic the natural rhythm of the surrounding trees. He also switched up the overlapping on each floor from left to right to further delineate the different levels. “There are not many places to add details on a minimalist house like this, so these little nuances are important,” he says.
Price estimates there was about 6 feet of snow on top of the roof last winter. “The snow adds thermal comfort,” he says. He engineered the roof to handle a heavy load of snow structurally, and it has a waterproof membrane to prevent any leaks.
Each of the home’s four levels rotates 20 degrees from the one beneath to open it up to different views and break up the facade. “The house steps and rotates up the hillside. It’s kind of like a twisting Jenga stack,” Price says.
The style of the home is modern and responds to the trees around it. Price chose dark-stained red cedar lap siding, oriented the boards vertically and varied 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch pieces in a random pattern to mimic the natural rhythm of the surrounding trees. He also switched up the overlapping on each floor from left to right to further delineate the different levels. “There are not many places to add details on a minimalist house like this, so these little nuances are important,” he says.
Price estimates there was about 6 feet of snow on top of the roof last winter. “The snow adds thermal comfort,” he says. He engineered the roof to handle a heavy load of snow structurally, and it has a waterproof membrane to prevent any leaks.
In arranging the rooms, he sandwiched the main living spaces between private bedroom floors. So from the bottom there’s a garage with a coat closet and storage area. The next level contains a mudroom, a laundry room, a mechanical room, two bedrooms and one bathroom. The next level contains the living room, dining room, a flexible space and a kitchen in one open space, as well as a powder room, a pantry and a boiler room. The top floor contains two bedroom suites, and the main master suite has another flexible room off it that can be used as a sitting room, media room, office or dressing room.
The landscaping immediately around the house was not complete at photo shoot time. And Price is drying trees that were removed during construction naturally (this takes about three years) so he can mill them to build furniture for future projects.
Find local design pros who specialize in sustainable design
The landscaping immediately around the house was not complete at photo shoot time. And Price is drying trees that were removed during construction naturally (this takes about three years) so he can mill them to build furniture for future projects.
Find local design pros who specialize in sustainable design
A Large Open Living Space
By keeping the floor plan open, all of the living spaces can enjoy the views out to the mountains and trees. The space in the back left corner behind the kitchen is a flex space. Expansive white walls provide space for large artwork to make a big impact — here the large painting and an area rug define the living room area.
The floors are engineered white oak. The house is heated through radiant floor heat.
By keeping the floor plan open, all of the living spaces can enjoy the views out to the mountains and trees. The space in the back left corner behind the kitchen is a flex space. Expansive white walls provide space for large artwork to make a big impact — here the large painting and an area rug define the living room area.
The floors are engineered white oak. The house is heated through radiant floor heat.
This is the view from the top of the stairs. Lift-slide doors provide a large opening out to a deck. The structural steel ceiling beams mark the 20-degree rotation of the floor above.
A 12-by-4½-foot kitchen island serves as a main gathering spot in the open space. “It has a great central location between the two decks, and everyone tends to congregate here,” Price says. He wrapped it in a black granite waterfall counter, and this side of the island is faced in the same stained red cedar siding he used on the exterior of the house. The island also serves as a focal point, and beyond it, the lack of upper cabinets creates a nice view from the living and dining spaces.
Browse modern and contemporary red counter stools
Browse modern and contemporary red counter stools
The doors seen here lead to a partially covered deck off the left side of the house.
The top level’s 20-degree rotation provides cover over the deck off the kitchen. Because of its placement up the hill in the trees, this outdoor space has a cozy treehouse feel. In fact, Price named this project The Tree Haus, a play on its surroundings and “Passivhaus,” the original passive-house program that began in Germany.
To make up for the lack of upper cabinets along the back wall of the kitchen, Price concentrated the appliances and cabinetry on one wall. He matched the cabinetry paint to the wall paint and chose minimalist hardware to maintain a clean look.
A large painting over the sink serves as a focal point in the kitchen.
A Hardworking Stairwell
The stacked stairwell acts as a thermal chimney — windows at the bottom pull in cool air, while hot air that rises is released by windows at the top of the staircase. Thanks to the siting, the stairwell and the cross breezes provided by all of the doors and windows, the house doesn’t need air conditioning.
Price’s father, a retired schoolteacher and talented metalworker, crafted all of the indoor and outdoor railings. “When you’re working on a project just for yourselves, you can add details that are different from the norm — we were able to make the vertical rails perpendicular to the stair treads here,” he says. The railings match the steel stringers, beams and black metal light fixtures used in the home. The treads are Douglas fir.
The stacked stairwell acts as a thermal chimney — windows at the bottom pull in cool air, while hot air that rises is released by windows at the top of the staircase. Thanks to the siting, the stairwell and the cross breezes provided by all of the doors and windows, the house doesn’t need air conditioning.
Price’s father, a retired schoolteacher and talented metalworker, crafted all of the indoor and outdoor railings. “When you’re working on a project just for yourselves, you can add details that are different from the norm — we were able to make the vertical rails perpendicular to the stair treads here,” he says. The railings match the steel stringers, beams and black metal light fixtures used in the home. The treads are Douglas fir.
A mix of midcentury modern-style furnishings and textiles creates a warm modern feel in the living room.
Here’s the view from the deck to the living room, kitchen and flex space.
The flex space can serve as a media room, office area, or as seen here, a reading and game-playing space.
Shop tulip tables
Shop tulip tables
In the powder room, Price fabricated the countertop from hot rolled steel, adding an industrial element that plays off the other steel details seen throughout the home. All of the lighting in the home is LED and all of the plumbing fixtures are low flow.
Master Suite
On the top floor there are two master suites. This one has direct access to a private deck. This suite also includes an adjacent flex room. Right now it’s a dressing room, expanded closet and sitting room, but Price notes it easily could serve as an office or media room. It is also conveniently located should a future owner need a nursery close by.
On the top floor there are two master suites. This one has direct access to a private deck. This suite also includes an adjacent flex room. Right now it’s a dressing room, expanded closet and sitting room, but Price notes it easily could serve as an office or media room. It is also conveniently located should a future owner need a nursery close by.
The master bathroom continues the clean black-and-white look. It has a bathtub, a large shower stall and a separate water closet. The floor tile is natural slate and the counters are quartz.
Because of the ambitious design and Salt Lake City’s long winters, construction took about two years. This allowed Price to complete all of the extensive work on the retaining wall and foundation and let it settle over the first winter.
“While this was a project for a family home, we were more in it for the fun of working on a project together,” he says. With the challenging site, long construction timeline, personalized design and extra expense of building to Passive House standards, this certainly was not a money-making spec house project. But while they enjoyed staying in the house together, the family realized they have more fun planning and working on a project together than sitting around in it when it’s complete. An unexpected high demand for energy-efficient modern houses in the area wound up enticing them to sell. Now they can continue to have fun as a family working on a new project while spreading the Passive House ethos to others.
More on Houzz
Read more about Passive Houses
Tour more energy efficient homes
Shop for your home
Because of the ambitious design and Salt Lake City’s long winters, construction took about two years. This allowed Price to complete all of the extensive work on the retaining wall and foundation and let it settle over the first winter.
“While this was a project for a family home, we were more in it for the fun of working on a project together,” he says. With the challenging site, long construction timeline, personalized design and extra expense of building to Passive House standards, this certainly was not a money-making spec house project. But while they enjoyed staying in the house together, the family realized they have more fun planning and working on a project together than sitting around in it when it’s complete. An unexpected high demand for energy-efficient modern houses in the area wound up enticing them to sell. Now they can continue to have fun as a family working on a new project while spreading the Passive House ethos to others.
More on Houzz
Read more about Passive Houses
Tour more energy efficient homes
Shop for your home
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect and contractor Chris Price of Park City Design Build
Location: Park City, Utah
Size: 3,463 square feet (322 square meters); four bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Price’s family enjoys completing projects together. So he partnered with them on the development and building of the project, with plans to enjoy it together when construction was complete.
A Challenging Site and Standards
The first challenge was a steeply sloped site many developers would have passed by. To make the site usable, Price used the hill to his advantage. “Most people would carve out a big hole and put in a traditional house with a gap between the back of the house and the hillside,” he says. “By beaming the home into the hillside, we utilized the earth‘s natural heat capacity, which stays around 55 degrees, to help cool the building in the summer and help keep temperatures from swinging too cold in the winter.”
The second challenge was building to Passive House standards — they require that a home use 75% less energy than a new home built to code. Price created a tight envelope by installing triple-paned windows and doors and building 12-inch-thick double-stud walls that are highly insulated. Sealing all of the penetrations keeps the house airtight. One super-efficient Navien combi-boiler heats all the water in the house and provides radiant heat beneath the floors. The house does not have or need air conditioning — the home’s design keeps it cool passively.
Hire a local design-build firm