There goes the neighborhood...

[New2]

I'm curious... 50 years ago, were folks worrying about Dick Bass and his brutalist architecture and hippy friends douching up Little Cottonwood Canyon? Probably. And while Snowbird's architecture isn't necessarily what I would choose for my own home, I appreciate it and it evokes more of a sense of place when skiing than the hodgepodge at Alta or Brighton or the generic Burbank-Scottsdale-quasi-Mediterranean vibe at Solitude.

 

[Jerez]

Dick Bass and his brutalist architecture and hippy friends douching up Little Cottonwood Canyon?

Very good!

 

[Cameron]

So far I think they have only reached the cap a few times. There is also a limit on season passes. Last I heard, there were less than 100 adult passes left for this season. Originally it was rumored that the new lifts (Village & Mary's) would be private for the Summit members & property owners. Other rumors were that the whole resort would be private. We will see what the future brings.

Snowbasin used to be special, not so much anymore. They sell an unlimited number of passes, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000+. Imagine if every pass holder showed up on the same day! Sometimes it seems like they do.

Once we start talking about a place being special, it's probably not so special anymore.

The cap seemed pretty low though I am not sure what its like when they reach that point.

As long as they don't replace the powder country bus with lifts I'm OK with the development.

 

[Wilhelmson]

With special 'patina' on the "sustainably sourced" lumber


In all honesty, I really like the featured designs.

Is that wafer board on the roof in the first picture?

I think those houses look pretty cool. Wonder what the Utes think of the SLC suburban architecture.

 

[TheArchitect]

My experience living at altitude in snow country is that flat roofed buildings are problematic Just another thing you have to deal with. I mention this because the one building design I see on post #10 is flat roofed. Snow load on a flat roof can't be ignored, it's gotta be addressed. Even snow load on a pitched roof can cause problems, though they are easier to handle. And don't get me started on the Yellowstone Club.

Local code requires snow loading to be accounted for, regardless of roof geometry. Flat will just have a higher gravity loading. Of course the pitched will have higher wind loading...

You can design the structure to withstand even the heaviest of loadings but it comes at a price and the physical space that structure would require. After meeting the code requirements you can assess what makes the most sense in terms of over-designing the structure to resist higher snow loads.

 

[Jerez]

Living in flat roof country, I can tell you it isn't all about the loads but the leaks. Every flat roof we have ever had..at home and work... has leaked multiple times. Just hate flat roofs, but they are requires I many neighborhoods here.

 

[4ster]

Living in flat roof country, I can tell you it isn't all about the loads but the leaks. Every flat roof we have ever had..at home and work... has leaked multiple times. Just hate flat roofs, but they are requires I many neighborhoods here.

I was just going to say the same thing. I think that a flat roof is more apt to have ice dams as well which create leaks. Flat roofs seem to be the cool thing around here lately but everyone I know who has one also has issues. Almost all the new construction I see is going with this style, maybe they have come up with some solutions.

 

[DanoT]

I was just going to say the same thing. I think that a flat roof is more apt to have ice dams as well which create leaks. Flat roofs seem to be the cool thing around here lately but everyone I know who has one also has issues. Almost all the new construction I see is going with this style, maybe they have come up with some solutions.

My guess is that because flat roofs are, well, flat and a smaller square footage to construct, they are less expensive to build. So maybe they have not really come up with solutions (other than initial cost savings) and then the negatives still remain and the cost savings eventually get eaten up by roof repairs.