CAMPout is an exquisitely considered family retreat by Faulkner Architects situated near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern California, where the landscape — steep slopes, towering Jeffrey and sugar pines, and proximity to Martis Valley — informs every design decision. Conceived for a San Francisco family with a passion for mountaineering and outdoor life, this 3,800 sq ft residence delicately balances protection, privacy, and panoramic views within a context increasingly defined by wildfire risk.
Set into a north-facing slope, sleeping areas are nestled into the earth, naturally defining a central courtyard that becomes the organizing heart of the house. This open court fosters privacy from neighboring properties and frames views toward distant mountains. On its south side, a concrete pavilion unfolds, housing the principal communal spaces — living, dining, and kitchen — and opens outward to the landscape, drawing sunlight and visual connection beyond the enclosure.
The architectural strategy at CAMPout is rooted in contextual responses: glazing is judiciously limited at the combustible periphery to enhance fire resistance while maximized facing the protected courtyard, creating a secure yet luminous interior environment. A slender steel shed roof tilts upward, capturing southern light and views of adjacent ski runs, while insulated concrete walls and laminated steel sash windows form a robust shell that confronts climate forces with resilience.
Materiality is deeply tied to site realities. The palette draws from basalt boulders and pine needles of the forest floor, expressed through basalt flooring and concrete walls that resonate with the natural terrain. Native cedar interiors, left unfinished to celebrate their organic character, and blackened steel casework further unify the home with its wooded setting. Such consistency in material deployment instills a calmness throughout the assemblage and reinforces the architecture’s holistic connection to place.
Beyond shelter, CAMPout embodies a shelter-like experience that evokes camping in the wilderness — a design metaphor where built form and landscape coexist. Its configuration around a fire-lit courtyard offers a focal space for family life, recalling the essence of communal gathering amid nature. And while engineered for safety and durability in a region challenged by wildfire threats, the project never sacrifices spatial richness, lightness of presence, or the emotional quality that makes it a restorative refuge.
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