Spectacular Wyoming ranch sits within a restored working landscape
This Wyoming ranch by CLB Architects offers a new approach to the Western architectural tradition, combining daring and functional modern design with a welcoming character
![new wyoming ranch: Black Fox Ranch, CLB Architects](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6ER8sBKgXfETngCPKpWEQj-415-80.jpg)
This Wyoming ranch is a grand example of Jackson Hole modernism, a contemporary country house and stables set within a 35-acre estate. The new home, Black Fox Ranch, designed by CLB Architects, fits seamlessly into this historic landscape, with its wide horizons and distant mountain peaks.
Designing a new Wyoming ranch
Set in the flat plains of Wyoming's Snake River valley, the three-bedroom house hugs the ground, with dark timber siding and earth-coloured concrete that appears to blend into the terrain. There’s a lot of history here, including a 19th-century trapper’s cabin, the remnants of the former working cattle ranch, as well as game trails that are frequented by hundreds of elk each year.
The new house is a primary residence with generous space for horses as well as humans. The clients have taken on returning the land to a working horse ranch, and the new barn and corral were designed alongside the house, and separated by a square courtyard, with pastures surrounding the property.
‘The client, who grew up riding horses, had been living in New York City for many years and missed riding,’ says Eric Logan, CLB’s design principal. ‘An important part of this project was about creating a place where she could return to her roots.’
The corral is a Barragán-esque confection of shuttered concrete walls and water troughs, mirrored by the low walls that reach out into the landscape and help frame views from the house. Riding trails lead off into the surrounding countryside, which includes the Grand Teton National Park.
The main house is arranged within an L-shaped plan, with a gently sloping roof that rises up to accommodate the primary bedroom and office on the upper level. The roof oversails the cantilevered terrace at one end of the plan and the covered dining area at the other. Formed from cross-laminated timber beams and clad to resemble a single, unified object, this roof creates the wedge-shaped profile that defines the house from a distance.
Carefully sited exterior spaces are scattered around the perimeter, including a fire pit and a barbeque, helping to make the most of the summer weather. In addition to the upstairs suite, there is a guest suite on the ground floor, alongside a gym and a sauna. A double-height entrance hall provides views of the pasture and mountains beyond.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
The materials palette is low-key and hard-wearing, even though the finishes are of an extremely high quality. The façade combines dark-stained cedar with steel I-beams and stone terraces, alongside the board-formed concrete, while inside there are polished concrete floors and expansive amounts of custom cabinetry and steelwork, including the main staircase.
The landscape, overseen by DesignWorkshop, was substantially restored with the addition of new topsoil and native planting. ‘A key goal was to restore and regenerate the land, bringing this historic ranch site into a new phase of its life,’ says Logan.
CLB architects was founded in 1992 and is based in Jackson Hole. Today, the office has around 50 staff, led by partners Eric Logan, Kevin Burke, Andy Ankeny, and Darcey Prichard, and working on architecture, interiors, and product design.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
IM Pei's Everson Museum of Art gets a modern makeover
The East Wing of the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY has been given a contemporary refresh by emerging Los Angeles studio MILLIØNS
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Black Modernism’s lesser-known, at-risk architecture gems gain a lifeline
Conserving Black Modernism announces vital funding to save and preserve overlooked and endangered buildings by African American architects and designers
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Step into the Blanton Museum of Art's reimagined public realm by Snøhetta in Austin
Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas is completed and reveals its reimagined public realm and plaza designed by Snøhetta
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This New York Townhouse renovation is a lesson in contemporary minimalism
TenBerke’s carefully considered New York townhouse is the reimagining of a century-old Manhattan structure that reframes vertical living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Visit The Frost House, a lesser-known modernist architecture marvel in Michigan City
The Frost House is a lesser-known midcentury architecture gem in Michigan City, Indiana; we took the tour as the property goes on the market
By Audrey Henderson Published
-
Broadway designer Scott Pask’s Arizona retreat is a scene-stealing discovery
Scott Pask invites us inside his Arizona retreat, nestled in the foothills overlooking Tucson – a place to reboot, recharge and commune with nature
By Michael Webb Published
-
Upstate New York retreat Ridge House evokes land art
Ridge House in upstate New York, the work of Brooklyn-based studio Worrell Yeung, is at one with the surrounding countryside
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Rafael de Cárdenas’ first ground-up project is a forever home with waterfront views and hidden treasures
Rafael de Cárdenas reveals his latest completed project in the Pacific Northwest, a family home of calming spaces that bleed the outside in, and ten years in the making
By Ellie Stathaki Published