Stone Creek Camp b y S t e p hen S ha r p e
p r o j e c t Stone c l i e n t Martin
Creek Camp, Big Fork, Mont.
and Connie Stone
a r c h i t e c t Andersson-Wise d e s i g n t e a m Arthur
Architects
Andersson, AIA; Chris Wise, AIA; Christopher
Sanders, AIA; Becky Joye; Matthew Ames c o n t r a c t o r Big
Fork Builders; Martel Construction
c o n s u l t a n t s Mimi
London of London Boone Interiors (interior);
Doepkers Landscaping (landscape); Eclipse Engineering (structural); Schwartz Architecture & Engineering (MEP); CMG Engineering (geotechnical) p h o t o g r a p h e r Art
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Gray
“Beauty alone doesn’t hold your interest for very long. You want things to be a little… scary. But the kind of awe that derives from nature is extraordinarily tranquil.” So muses Arthur Andersson, AIA, in the recently published Natural Houses that features several projects designed by Andersson-Wise Architects, the Austin firm led by him and Chris Wise, AIA. Prominently showcased in the book is Stone Creek Camp, a backwoods hideaway built on a ridge overlooking Flathead Lake in rural northwestern Montana. The elegantly rusticated encampment comprises eight small buildings strategically arrayed across the steeply sloping site, each positioned to foster an individual and collective sense of refuge. Awesomely tranquil indeed, the beauty of the setting – 15 forested acres with a sweeping view across the lake through the treetops – literally materializes in the architecture, with the building palette drawn directly from nature. Particularly evocative are the facades at the entry court of the main house, which appear to be fabricated with raw firewood that has been dry stacked within steel framework—two-footthick perimeter walls constructed with a double wythe of sawn logs and an insulated waterproof layer in between. Above these intricate compositions of split cordwood is a planted roof of wispy tufts of native grass that further grounds the building to its site. One more example of this artful celebration of nature is the use of interlocked pieces of field stone for interior walls and a fireplace. The way these highly tactile, monumental walls are interwoven helps blur the distinction between indoor and outdoor space, especially on the west side that faces the lake. Here the walls are mostly
t e x a s
a r c h i t e c t
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