2017 Design Award Winner: Residential Architecture, Less Than 3,000 Sq. Ft.
Author:Lydia LeeMork-Ulnes Architects is our 2017 Design Award Winner for Residential Architecture, Less than 3,000 Sq. Ft.
Meanwhile, the exterior is clad in 2”x4” cedar planks, coated in pine tar. The natural finish is unusual today, but is a time-honored Scandinavian preservative for wooden boats and medieval churches. The dark coating allows the house to recede into the surrounding forest during the summer and stand out boldly in the winter. Says Mork-Ulnes, “The basic outline is very simple, like a child’s drawing.” But creating a house that combines both traditional charm and modernist rigor is no elementary feat—making this a winning project for many.
Photographer: Bruce Damonte
The house was a family affair in more than one sense; Casper’s wife, Lexie Mork Ulnes, is an interior designer and brought a bespoke level of detail to the interiors. She created some key pieces of furniture, including a long bench for the dining table. The Scandinavian influence is most noticeable in the home’s interior and exterior finishes. The interiors highlight the natural texture of wood: The vaulted ceilings, the floors, and the kitchen cabinetry are all Douglas fir. But to lighten its hue and remove the yellow tones, the wood has been bleached with lye. It’s a popular technique for brightening interiors and counteracting the gloomy weather in Scandinavia, and it creates a modern ambiance that is quite different from that of a cabin paneled in knotty pine.
Photographer: Bruce Damonte
Meanwhile the south-facing side has wide balconies to take advantage of the warmth of the sun. On the top floor, a wall of pocketing glass doors allows the space to open almost entirely along two sides to the outdoors. In addition, two large skylights funnel sunlight down, creating a main living space that is suffused with light.
Photographer: Bruce Damonte
While it has a contemporary outlook, the home doesn’t break with tradition completely. It has a traditional pitched roof to shed snow. To shield the interiors from the weather and preserve privacy (a popular trail runs near the property), the house presents a mostly blank facade, punctured only by small windows, towards the north.
Photographer: Bruce Damonte
The main house starts on the second level, which includes three bedrooms and a bunkroom for all the kids. On the level above is the home’s main gathering space—an open kitchen, living, and dining area—as well as the master suite.
Photographer: Bruce Damonte
“When there are extreme snowfalls, you can’t see anything,” says Mork Ulnes, who describes his design approach as a combination of Norwegian practicality and California optimism. “I wanted to lift the cabin up to get it out of the snow.” To get it above the typical snow line, the design team raised the house up eight feet. It is poised on a concrete plinth, which contains the home’s foyer and a small storage area. The ground-level space is the perfect staging area for skiing; all the bulky equipment can be stowed away and retrieved easily. (The sheltered area is not used for parking, since deep snowfalls prevent cars from driving into the development during the winter).
Photographer: Bruce Damonte
Mork Ulnes, who is originally from Norway and has offices in San Francisco and Oslo, designed the retreat for his in-laws, their three grown children, and their seven grandchildren. (The name, which translates as “Troll House,” comes from the clients’ term of endearment for the youngest generation.) Located in the Sugar Bowl ski area, the house is optimized for both summer and winter use; the record level for snowfall here is 14 feet.
Photographer: Bruce Damonte
Many Tahoe homes are designed with an emphasis on hewn stone and heavy timber, but architect Casper Mork-Ulnes wanted to give the California ski cabin a serious update. Responding to the climate as well as—or better than—those ruggedly styled homes, the clean-lined Troll Hus is a refreshing riff on a mountain getaway.
Photographer: Bruce Damonte