CAMPout

Faulkner Architects

CAMPout reflects the clients’ love of camping and exploring. To foster an enhanced experience of the natural landscape, a courtyard plan evolved as a formal device to connect the occupants with their natural environment. A passive design approach responds to the shadow of the nearby mountain, the 18-meter conifer trees, and the six months of snow cover. Insulated concrete walls and a roof of steel and aggregate-covered fire-rated membrane combine with laminated steel sash glazing to form a fire-resistive shell. Radiantly heated concrete and stone floors store heat energy, and snowmelt is captured in below-grade rain stores that recharge the natural aquifer. Sleeping areas are dug into the slope and wrap the courtyard. The family gathering space is built as a south-facing concrete pavilion that connects the courtyard to the distant view beyond. Glazing is limited at the exterior interface with the combustible surroundings and maximized in the courtyard, where the light and screen of the forest safely connects with the interior. At night, spaces surrounding the courtyard are activated by the flickering light of the fire pit.