Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designs a retreat in the landscape of Wyoming

The Jackson Residence, designed by Seattle-based architects Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, is a spacious retreat for a couple whose retirement was an ideal moment for them to focus on their passion project – a piece of land that had lain dormant for years while life happened.
Their sloping plot, settled within the dramatic landscape of Jackson, Wyoming, had been waiting for the Jackson Residence to be built – a place for contemplation, family entertaining and a dramatic response to its location overlooking views of the Snake River Valley and the Teton Mountain Range.
The design of the house is a journey that starts at the edge of the plot; a private road moves through a sagebrush meadow alongside a grove of delicate aspen trees, descending between concrete walls that frame the moving landscape and arrive at a plateau that marks the entry to the house.
A steel canopy extends from a crevasse in the concrete façade that parts into a front door. Step inside and an axial view extends before you into the heart of the home, between two vast concrete fireplaces and out the other side to the study – a room with glazed walls that cantilevers into the landscape like a diving board into nature.
The entrance to the Jackson Residence.
This upper level of the house is defined by a series of linear bars, wood-lined boxes and glazed ‘pavilions’ that are used as devices to segment space and frame the exterior landscape, creating intimate zoning for the couple.
The lower level – reached by a floating staircase – offers a different pace, opening up communal spaces for family time and a covered terrace for entertaining that extends into the landscape.
The two level 9000-sq-ft house follows the shape of the land, and also has an 870-sq-ft guest house and a 860-sq-ft garage.
The approach to the house which runs alongside the sagebrush meadow and a grove of aspen trees.
The entrance to the house, covered by a steel canopy.
The axial view through the centre of the home.
The living space, which is enclosed with a glass ’pavilion’, with interiors designed by WRJ Design.
Floor to ceiling glazing wraps around the living spaces and overlooks the landscape.
The house cantilevers into the landscape, bringing the inhabitants closer to the natural environment.
The interior spaces designed by WRJ Design are warm and welcoming.
Architectural framing devices feature across the home, creating the ’drama’ that the client desired.
The sleek kitchen features a window at the end that overlooks the landscape.
The landscape surrounding the Jackson Residence.
The bedroom overlooks green planting surrounding the house.
Nature encroaches into the house through planting and framed views
The free-standing tub in the bathroom.
The Jackson Residence at dusk.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Bohlin Cywinski Jackson website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
Shop the gloriously mad inner workings of Gary Card’s brain in London’s Soho
Set designer and artist Gary Card has taken over London's Plaster Store – expect chaos and some really good accessories
-
Venerable British car-maker AC goes OTT with the high-output, low-slung AC GT SuperSport
Pitched at all-American fans of the original AC Cobra, the GT SuperSport is a fearsome two-seat roadster with more muscle than ever before
-
The dynamic young gallerists reinvigorating America's art scene
'Hugging has replaced air kissing' in this new wave of galleries with craft and community at their core
-
Discover this sleek-but-warm sanctuary in the heart of the Wyoming wilds
This glorious wood-and-stone residence never misses a chance to show off the stirring landscape it calls home
-
Inside a Montana house, putting the American West's landscape at its heart
A holiday house in the Montana mountains, designed by Walker Warner Architects and Gachot Studios, scales new heights to create a fresh perspective on communing with the natural landscape
-
Peel back this Michigan lakeside house’s cool slate exterior to reveal a warm wooden home
In Detroit, Michigan, this lakeside house, a Y-shaped home by Disbrow Iannuzzi Architects, creates a soft balance between darkness and light through its minimalist materiality
-
Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for dance
Jacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
-
A Rancho Mirage home is in tune with its location and its architect-owners’ passions
Architect Steven Harris and his collaborator and husband, designer Lucien Rees Roberts, have built a home in Rancho Mirage, surrounded by some of America’s most iconic midcentury modern works; they invited us on a tour
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it