Spring Creek Ranch Headquarters

Jackson, Wyoming

Foto © Lark Smothermon

Looking to the dude ranch lodges and "auto camp" reception facilities that have peppered Jackson Hole for nearly a century, architects brought new life to a vernacular building type with the design of the Spring Creek Ranch Headquarters. Exposed steel columns encased in split-logs, bull hide-covered glulam beams, and acid-stained concrete rely on a contemporary material palette while still subtly evoking Old West regional flare.

The multi-faceted program of a reception area, offices, spa facility, salon, outdoor terraces, and a convention center is housed in a long and narrow building envelope along an east-west axis—massing and orientation guided by county height and skyline restrictions as well as a desire to optimize Teton Range views. The simplicity of the plan’s long, narrow layout is belied by architectural details that expose structure and augment the building’s simple form: The low-pitched rooflines, which stem from the regional ranch concept, deviate from the stylistic norm as they extend out far beyond the vertical walls to meet exposed steel supports that rise toward the roof at an oblique angle. Likewise, exposed structural elements featured on the interior—such as wood-wrapped steel columns and hanging steel wires that literally tie the fireplace mantel in place—call attention to the structure in intriguing ways. The combination of an exposed structure and honest, natural local materials results in a no-nonsense building that immediately engages the approaching visitor.