Mountain architecture

After about a quarter century of sensible architectural design, Park City residence are slipping back again into uncharted territory with a new push for “contemporary look”.

It's almost as if design was now preceding function instead of following it. Years of “bad design ideas” are resurrected and glorified under the guise of the modern look. 

Take this new home currently under construction in our neighborhood and see how's the exterior has been laid out: Its west-facing floating balcony (1) is fully exposed to the elements and sure could use a roof or some sheltering. Since the house is located in a northern-exposed slope, the two glass-walls (2) facing south, may get too much sun in the summer without the benefit of roof overhangs and, finally, the rafters sticking out (3) are a lousy idea that has no place on any mountain residence.

I haven't seen the floor plans, but if they reflect the exterior of the house, I have no desire to see them. Automobiles are getting better all the time, because of good, incremental changes, but custom houses fall pray to some architect's whims, set to re-invent the wheel and take their design back into a museum of terrible ideas.

The saddest part is that I know this particular architect. He's French and the nephew of former ski champion Léo Lacroix; well, maybe it's not his fault, but that of the client who asked for these features in the first place!