Cookhouse, Park County, Montana Real Estate, America Residential Property, Architecture Images
Cookhouse in Park County, Montana
New American Residence in the Rocky Mountains, USA – design by Fernau and Hartman Architects
Sep 27, 2019
Cookhouse
Design: Fernau and Hartman Architects
Location: Whitefish, Rocky Mountains, northwest Montana, USA

Fernau and Hartman Architects had been working on the Avis Ranch for nearly twenty years when they started to design the Cookhouse. The additions and renovations that had already been done to the historic homestead were well received locally and by the profession, so the architect were nervous about adding a new piece. Fernau and Hartman Architects were concerned that the significantly larger scale of the new structure would compete with the Granary, which was the centerpiece of the Montana compound, a landmark visible for miles as one descends into the Brackett Creek valley. Their goal, therefore, was to build modestly and with minimal impact on the landscape of the existing ranch.
The architects started by deciding to site the Cookhouse on the south side of, and across a small creek from, the Granary. The creek ? which had become a little more than a drainage ditch ? was restored and replanted with willows, dogwood, and other native riparian vegetation to provide a degree of separation from the agricultural compound and road beyond. The Equipment Barn is located adjacent to the previously rehabilitated Granary and connects to...