Each year, thousands of tourists take thousands of pictures of the Teton Mountains in Wyoming. The Tetons — arguably the most photographed mountain range in the country, if not the world — make it easy for even the worst of photographers to take stunning pictures that capture their abundant beauty. For one family that lives just outside Grand Teton National Park, these picturesque mountains are within sight from every room in its home, thanks to an architect’s careful planning.

The magic of the Teton range is its lack of foothills, which provides a breathtaking contrast where the flat, horizontal valley to the east meets the jagged profile of the nation’s youngest mountains. It is this horizontal line created where the valley meets the mountains that provides inspiration for the custom home on the south end of the park that sits 500 ft. above the valley floor.

STEPHEN DYNIA ARCHITECTS
Jackson, Wyo.
dynia.com

COMPANY STATS
Industry memberships: AIA, NCARB
Annual number of projects: 15
Residential new construction: 65 percent

Horizontal lines are seen in practically every element of the home: the kitchen cabinet hardware; where concrete meets concrete; along the ceiling’s wood slats; in the railings; in the book shelves; the wood beams; the steps leading down to the back yard; the roofline; the long, narrow nature of the home itself; and in many other places.

“The house has a gravity and weight to it that is characteristic of what might be considered traditional buildings in this region,” says Stephen Dynia, AIA, president, Stephen Dynia Architects in Jackson, Wyo. “But it is also a house that responds to the site and its environmental conditions as well as the owner’s needs, in an expression that is current with the earth it is built on. It doesn’t pander to style; it is the result of all these considerations.”

The gently curving roofline matches that of the hillside on which the home sits. Dynia made sure the home does not dominate its site or the national park’s environment, both of which lack many buildings, he says. The roof peaks with powered clerestory windows along the entire length of the house to provide both natural light and ventilation. The wall opposite the clerestory consists of a row of sliding glass panels where air enters the home.