Kiwi architect is king of the mountain
A multimillion-dollar ski-in ski-out house in Utah is the pinnacle of David Howell’s career to date. Colleen Hawkes reports.
New Zealand architect David Howell flew back into town last week to judge the Best Design Awards.
And you’d think after 25 years’ designing houses and loft interiors for wealthy New York clients, including some very famous ones, he wouldn’t get too excited by new projects.
But his biggest commission was just finished last weekend and it’s clearly everything he ever dreamed of designing – a massive, contemporary ski-in, ski-out house 2740 metres above sea level in the mountains at Alta in Utah.
Howell won’t put a figure on the project, which took five years to build as there was only a six-month window in which to work each year due to the heavy snow falls in winter. Suffice to say it must have been several million dollars, but he says it kept a lot of people in work for a very long time.
This is not your archetypal alpine ski lodge – for starters it has a flat(ish) roof in an area known to gather up to 20m of snow on occasions. But the snow provides additional insulation, says Howell.
The house consequently takes the form of two structures joined by a glazed air bridge, the main one being a cantilevered tunnelshaped building, which the architect likens to a piece of square bamboo, because it is hollow through the middle. All the structural strength is contained within the outer shell, which is clad in solid concrete panels.
‘‘A standard concrete house would have around four tonnes of rebar reinforcing – this house has 91 tonnes, and and 1000 cubic yards (764 cubic metres) of concrete,’’ says Howell. ‘‘Every time there was a concrete pour, two or three representatives from the concrete company would come to supervise, which was a first.’’
Aesthetically, the raw materials are celebrated. The inner concrete walls retain the vertical board forms used in the construction. And the Douglas fir used in the formwork has been recycled and used throughout the interior, including the kitchen cabinets. The front door is bronze with an antique handle.
Howell says it is hard to get an idea of the sheer size of the house – the tunnel element is nearly 20m long. ‘‘But it is hunkered down so it doesn’t look too massive from the road. This also means the owners can ski straight into the house.’’
Howell has clearly enjoyed working on a site outside New York, which he says has seen no decent new architecture in several decades, unlike New Zealand.
‘‘In the past 10 years in New York there is no new building that stands out or has become a modern icon; rather there is a lot of mediocre architecture. They still seem satisfied to define their culture by their existing architectural heritage, in terms of buildings such as the Chrysler Building and the Guggenheim.’’
But the architect does heap praise on Kiwi designers. He says the Best Design Awards (to be announced in October) are especially great for New Zealand, as they overlap all the design disciplines. He is judging the architectural design awards and expects a high standard of interesting projects in the mix.
But he also says it is hard to get New Zealand architecture recognised overseas. ‘‘There is so much else happening globally in the field of architecture, New Zealand is still seen as being down there in the South Pacific, even though the Pure NZ brand is well recognised.
‘‘That recognition does not necessarily roll on to architecture.
‘‘Having said that, people in the US love New Zealanders. They love our accent and they will always roll out the red carpet.
‘‘It’s a very positive place in which to run a business.’’
Howell says he has not ruled out the possibility of doing a house in New Zealand – he returns twice a year to catch up with family and has industry commitments.