My research for today was divided amongst five topics that I then put into an order of highest priority to lowest. The more I thought about the size of this project in relation to the rest of the mountain, I knew that the most important thing to me would be the ability for this warming hut to be reproduced and placed in various locations around Big Sky. My top five priorities all revolve around this principle, starting with…
Finding a Foundation
I think the most challenging thing this project presents is not only where we place the structure, but also how we place it. And because this structure is going to be made of concrete, it is even more interesting how the connection between structure and nature occurs because normally it would be through a concrete foundation. Because of the elevation you can’t just bring trucks and equipment to dig out, form, and pour concrete.
One option could be to use rubble as a foundation. Rubble can be used as a foundation for lighter structures by using dense rocks instead of pouring concrete. The issue that I see with that is that it may not be able to hold a dense concrete structure (the image shows the building of a straw house).
The idea of a rubble foundation does lead to the idea of using the rock of the mountain as the foundation. If you could use the rock that is naturally on the site, then all you would need to do is carve out part of the mountain to make the foundation level, and use the excess rock cut out below the site to create level areas around the site.
Creating an Inviting Space
Thinking about this project I think one of the biggest difficulties is that this is required to be a concrete building. This brings with it so many limitations because of the hight and the remoteness of the site. It doesn’t help that the research I come across shows examples of warming huts as timber construction. The next most challenging and interesting obstacle is how to make this warming hut, ‘warm’. When you look at timber structures it is something that evokes warmth and comfort, while concrete is cold and industrial.
Using interior finishes and details can make the hut feel a lot warmer (and the wood burning stove sure helps) but that doesn’t make the hut attractive from the exterior. We don’t want skiers thinking this is a maintenance building, but rather a place of rest and comfort. One option for the exterior is to finish the concrete by stamping it with wood-grain stamps, giving the impression of a wood siding facade.
Sustainable Formwork
One issue that I think is important to this project is making the construction process as easy and manageable as possible. That means that using pre-fabricated piece, though great for making multiple warming huts, is still unrealistic because there would be no way to transport these things to the locations of the sites (in most cases). That means that the concrete will likely be poured, which requires framework that needs to be built.
Rather than bring a bunch of tools and wood to make each formwork, it would be much easier to bring something that is light-weight. Fabric is being used in many applications to have different shapes of concrete forms. But this would also allow easy transport from one place to another. This would also allow the formwork to be used for multiple jobs, not just one job before it has to be thrown away.
Drainage
Because the main use of the warming hut is for skiers to warm up in the middle of a long, cold day, there is naturally going to be some excess snow that will melt inside the hut. Depending on the finishes inside the hut, this could be costly (ex. untreated wood, gypsum board). Not only can this excess water and condensation inside the hut ruin finishes, but it could, over time, damage the concrete because this condensation could make the water-cement ratio increase, lowering the strength of the concrete.
Maybe there is a way to use water (that could drain through a wood floor) to potentially store as a freshwater source (whether for making more concrete, for drinking purposes [emergency or non-emergency0, or to create a system that could potentially distribute the heat throughout the hut.
Storage
Lastly, an important thing to me about the project is how storage is treated. Whether that be the skiing equipment that needs to be stored outside of the shed (or inside, if there is enough room), the firewood that will be used to keep the hut warm, or actually occupancy, there needs to be a clear order to the storage. What will be the most efficient way to store the firewood? Where do they get the wood and how far does it take to transport to the hut? If the wood can be cut around the site, then it could be fine to store that inside the hut, but if it needs to be transported, maybe it makes sense to put the storage outside of the hut, closer to a trail.
Also where will the people put their skis? If they keep them inside, it brings more storage inside an already small space. If you leave them on the outside you need places to store them, but they are susceptible to slight weather and possibly theft (though unlikely).
