Prospect and refuge: These two themes have long guided the work of Tom Kundig. Siting houses in some of America’s most breathtaking but also rugged terrains, the AD100 architect takes care to create a deep sense of shelter—nestling buildings into hillsides, even blasting into rock—and engineer awe through sweeping vistas and intimate connections to nature. “Architecture is not the center of the world,” he has often said. “It’s the landscape that’s the center of the world for me.”
Now Kundig, a principal of the firm Olson Kundig, has translated those same principles to One&Only Moonlight Basin, a new hotel and community of private residences in Big Sky, Montana. A one-hour drive from Bozeman, the resort settles into the northeastern side of majestic Lone Peak, at the edge of an untamed forest. “It’s a ski mountain—but it’s also a big mountain,” says the intrepid outdoorsman, who grew up skiing in the region with his family. “That is the magic of this place. You are really at the limits of a wild environment.”
Having traveled along the scenic Gallatin River, visitors arrive to find three broad lodges, across them a total of 73 rooms and suites. From there, buildings break down in scale, with 19 freestanding guest cabins, plus a collection of four- to six-bedroom homes. That all of it recedes into the alpine surroundings is a testament to Kundig’s sensitive touch. Inspired by Japanese vernacular traditions, he prioritized the use of dark-stained wood, a material that, he says, “quiets the architecture into the shadows of trees, allowing the mountain colors to pop.” True to that spirit, the low-slung volumes appear to burrow into the greenery, their broad flat roofs reading as dashed lines across the verdant expanse.
Throughout the interiors, furnishings and finishes likewise defer to the alpine context without falling back on ranch tropes—no wagon wheels, no spurs, no skulls. Instead, walls of hot rolled steel and white oak offer a rugged backdrop to clean-lined case goods, objects in organic forms, and upholstered seating in an array of earthen hues. Window walls, all the while, frame sweeping views, the mullions echoing the trunks of conifers. “This is a place of comfort, a place that flows,” notes Kundig, who drew on past house designs to achieve that easygoing atmosphere. “The guest experience should be a residential experience.”
But it should also be an indoor-outdoor adventure. Four-season activities run the gamut, with 15 miles of private trails for hiking, biking, or Nordic skiing and an additional 40 miles of thrills accessible via One&Only’s dedicated gondola—to say nothing of nearby Yellowstone National Park. Dining venues cater to myriad palettes and moods. (Don’t miss chef Akira Back’s seasonal Japanese fare, followed by a nightcap at the Moonshack whiskey bar, a cozy cabin tucked in the woodland.) And the resort’s exceptional, stone-clad spa calls for a day of pampering. “The yin and yang is what makes both feel so special,” says Kundig, referring to the intersection of ultimate luxuries and untouched wilderness. “You really feel that tension.”
This story appears in the AD100 issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.
