HOUSE , K ETCHUM ,

IDAHO , USA
ARCHITECT
MARWAN A L-SAYED

Private Idaho

house

This house in the Idaho wilderness is a sophisticated

modern take on the traditional American log cabin.

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Nestling in a spectacular
mountain site on the edge of the
town of Ketchum, this house by
Marwan Al-Sayed is a highly
perceptive engagement with
topography, light and the local
vernacular. Though clearly
contemporary built for a
sportif couple with a young child
who enjoy running, skiing and
biking the project attempts to
connect with deeper,
immemorial resonances between
man and nature. Baghdad-born
and Columbia educated, AlSayed, who worked for Tod
Williams and Billie Tsien, is now
based in Phoenix. His work taps
into the uninhibited wellspring
of the Southwest school as
channelled by Will Bruder, Rick
Joy and Wendell Burnette, all
modern architectural
frontiersmen tackling nature
head on.
In this case the geography
shifts north to Idaho, but the
concerns of how to set
architecture in stupendous
landscape are similar. Idaho
straddles the Rocky Mountains
and is a popular destination for
skiing and hiking, yet laissez-faire
land use policies encouraging
piecemeal development often
conspire to take the edge off
that wilderness moment.
Commanding ravishing views of
the bleached, high desert
landscape, the steeply sloping
site is cradled and defined by a
pair of mountain peaks.
Al-Sayeds response to this
challenging topography is to
partially embed the house in the
hillside, so that the upper level
seems to float free from its
earthly, concrete moorings.
Riffing on an updated notion of
the log cabin, this L-shaped
volume is clad in a skin of
extremely thin horizontal strips
of white Atlantic cedar,
perforated by large picture
windows. For nearly half the
year the site is blanketed in
snow, and the silvery wood,
milkily translucent glass and light
grey concrete merge house with
mountainside.

1
Commanding ravishing
views, the house locks into
its steeply sloping site.

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upper level

site plan

HOUSE , K ETCHUM ,
IDAHO , USA
ARCHITECT
MARWAN A L-SAYED
2

The lowest level contains the

active, business end of things a
garage, recreation area, study
and ski waxing room, buttressed
by a muscular retaining wall.
Above are the living, dining and
sleeping areas conceived as
generous promenade decks from
which to survey the
surroundings. Spaces flow fluidly
into one another, divided by
movable screens to provide
privacy or communality where
required. As the house twists
and folds up the slope, the
change in levels and a subtle
shift in alignment creates a large
triangular courtyard, a precious
flat spot for al fresco gatherings

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cross section

and activities in an otherwise

precipitous terrain. At the
houses north end, the master
bedroom is aligned with the
Kinderhorn mountain peak
giving this intimate domestic
space an especially privileged
view of the changing
choreography of the seasons,
from snow and sky in winter, to
mountain wildflowers and
greenery in spring. C. S.

intermediate level

Architect
Marwan Al-Sayed Architects, Phoenix
Photographs
Bill Timmerman

lower level plan (scale approx 1:500)

2, 4
The patio at the heart of
the house a rare flat spot
in the hilly terrain.
3
The house in context. An
L-shaped volume containing
living spaces is anchored by
a concrete base.
5
Room with a view.
6, 7
Interiors have a finesse that
belies the rustic locale.

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