Queens Lane Wine Silo & Compound
Jackson, Wyoming
Completion Date: 1999-2004
Mature cottonwoods, a pond, and several streams form the context for this residential compound along the Snake River north of Jackson. The main residence of log, stone, and timber draws its inspiration from early twentieth century National Parks lodge architecture, whereas the two additional buildings on the property serve as a counterpoint to traditional notions of the western log structure.

For the shop/office building the client sought an unusual artistic statement that would speak to the present era while retaining a connection to the rustic tradition of the main lodge house. The solution still employs a vernacular architectural language with rough, antique logs as the primary material; however, by exposing and fusing the timber into an atypical two-volume framework connected by a transparent link, the shop building presents an innovative reworking of regional forms. A bridge, suspended by a steel rod from the truss above, links the upper-level deck to the office, and with a simple gabled roof and trusses of reclaimed timber and blackened steel, the rustic western tradition is both referenced and reinvigorated within a modern idiom.

The wine silo comprises the final addition to the compound and it stands adjacent to the shop. Because the compound lies in the Snake River flood plain, a standard wine cellar was incompatible with the building site. Borrowing from agrarian structures, the design team arrived at the silo form as an alternative, elevated storage system. In order to gracefully weather and blend in with the existing buildings and landscape the structure is clad in oxidized steel plates. The interior, inspired by a wine cask, is characterized by reclaimed fir woodwork and a spiral staircase that accesses carefully displayed wine bottles organized around the silo’s perimeter. The stair ascends to the roof where both the wine collection and views of the natural surroundings can be admired.