GAME OF STONES PLAYS OUT IN NORTHERN MONTANA
Breathtaking masonry and a bathtub carved out of a boulder make this massive U.S. castle special
What at first glance seems to be a medieval castle is actually a magnificent stone retreat in the woods of Montana.
Covering 12,390 square feet of floor space, architects describe the design of Great Northern Lodge as “parkitecture masonry,” influenced by Montana’s century Sperry Chalet hotel that was destroyed by wildfire this past summer. It took 41⁄ years to 2 build and was completed in 2016.
With views of both Beaver Lake and Whitefish Lake, Great Northern has a massive, square footprint with a courtyard in the middle. The main area houses the master bedroom and bathroom, as well as the living area’s great room, kitchen, dining area and breakfast area. Two wings border the main living area with one hosting a theatre, three-car garage and utility spaces, and upper-level office. The second wing houses a guest area, with several bunk rooms and a pair of second-storey guest rooms, two bathrooms and a glassed-in bridge.
Great Northern’s incredible masonry with stone — from a nearby quarry specially procured for the project — is breathtaking. Architects also incorporated rock outcroppings into the home’s design; one even forms the wall and roof of a tunnel staircase leading up to an office.
In addition to the stone, special concrete was used for the structure, hand-hewn white oak for the timbers and solid bronze windows were imported from Venice, Italy. Slate and copper complete the roof.
Architect Jamie Daugaard, of Centre Sky Architecture in Montana, answers a few questions about Great Northern Lodge:
What factors inspired your design?
One of the main things was the Sperry Chalet . . .We ended up procuring a quarry with stone very similar to the Sperry stone, which is reddish, blackish, purplish and green. It’s indigenous to northwest Montana and makes up the majority of the exterior and interior. National Parks architecture was also another element that was a big driver regarding how we did things, imple- Saw cutting, water jets and finetooth sanding transformed a boulder into this stunning bathtub. menting timbers with stone. The Anasazi culture (a Native-American group that was absorbed into other tribes) in the Southwest U.S. also influenced us.
We wanted to bring the natural aspects of the site — rugged mountains, boulders, mountain flowers — we wanted that to come back into the project, so the garage has an intensive vegetative roof.
We can put boulders and small trees on this roof; even a car can drive on it. We inserted the garage base into the hillside and let the hillside cascade over the top of the garage.
The bathtub is stunning. How was that built?
Aboulder was selected from the quarry. We figured we could probably carve it out and this would be a good size for it. The company used saw cutting, water jets and fine-tooth sanding.
What were the challenges?
It’s a complex home and there were a lot of challenges. The neat thing was that there was such a great integration between the owner and the general contractor that a lot of elements were worked out before construction even started. The owner wanted a masculine scale: everything from rock sizing to planks, window sizing, also view sizing. Much of it has big pieces of stone.
We had to get the bathtub craned in. We couldn’t put the rooftop on until that bathtub was placed. It was these kinds of things the builder really had to understand and work with.
What sustainable features are there?
The house is pretty much like you’re built into a stone cave. You’ve got a lot of thermal mass and you’ve got in-floor heat that gives more thermal mass in the home.