Like an embrace, Cut Out House in the Canadian wilderness invites the visitor in
Tour a new home in the captivating natural setting of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the latest residential offering by New York studio Young Projects
Cut Out House's distinct geometry is not random; nor was it an architect's flight of fancy or a purely aesthetic gesture. Set in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, this home, a family's holiday retreat, posed the challenge of navigating shelter and openness – offering the protective, all-mod-cons cocoon of a comfortable 21st-century residence, and connecting with the site's dramatic natural setting.
Explore Cut Out House in the Canadian Rocky Mountains
As a response to this brief, its author, architect Bryan Young and his New York-based team at the creative collective Young Projects, composed a structure that opens to the landscape but also features a 'cut out' element, forming a curved opening – an embrace, where the home encircles nature while also creating an inviting, protective space away from winds and the wilderness. This concave shape is informed by a large boulder found – and retained – on site, which now signals the entrance to the residence.
The 3,320 sq ft Cut Out House is striking – respectfully rivalling its context, a sweeping, lush natural landscape and the point where the local forest and mountains meet. A butterfly roof becomes another key feature in this project, defining its overall volume as seen across the nearby body of water from a distance.
Internally, the house balances serenity and dynamism, orientated towards its long vistas, which are framed through large openings on the opposite side of the rounded entrance patio. Behind those openings, a main piano nobile spans an open-plan living, kitchen, dining area and a study. One primary suite and three further guest bedrooms are nestled underneath, into the slope.
The material palette was conceived to mirror the home's natural setting, using primarily textured concrete, light wood, and warm stone. Furnishings and colour tones nod to midcentury architecture icons, blended with contemporary pieces from companies such as B&B Italia, Bocci and Bloc Studios.
A fast-emerging and extremely versatile studio, Young Projects has a strong focus on material explorations and work that plays with form, textures and scale to dramatic but also highlight function-driven effect. Past work includes the playful Six Square House in Long Island – while the studio has more underway, including private residential, retail and hospitality work.
