Dezeen Magazine

Three cabins with metal gable ends and granite stone walls on a snowy mountainside

Three connected cabins form multi-generational home in Vermont mountains

Montreal architecture studio Nós has completed a multi-generational home in Vermont's Green Mountains named Three Summits, which is made up of three pitched-roof structures connected by one-storey walkways.

Nós designed the home to provide communal spaces that frame views of the surrounding mountain range and bring together three generations of family members.

A series of pitched-roof structures with granite stone walls and metal-clad gable ends on a snowy mountainside
The home is made up of three connected cabin structures

"By the repetition of simple forms freely positioned on the site, the project generates a diversity of living spaces supporting the needs of communal life, while offering different relations with the landscape," said Nós.

"Stripped of ornamentation, the lines, planes and volumes compose a pure, and even primitive geometric whole."

Three pitched-roof structures with granite stone walls and metal-clad gable ends on a snowy mountainside
The home is located on a mountain slope

Granite stone walls support the pitched roofs, which feature gable ends clad with sheet metal.

The tall, angular rooflines were designed to mimic the surrounding mountains.

"Constituting the only opaque surfaces on the first floor, the stone monoliths accommodate the technical spaces and form the base of the three triangular prisms," said Nós.

"These high angular roofs stage the Green Mountains, fully assuming its iconographic reference to winter sports and Nordicity."

A series of pitched-roof structures with granite stone walls and metal-clad gable ends connected by timber-clad walkways on a snowy mountainside
Timber cladding defines the entrances

Outdoor courtyards surround the walkways that connect the three cabin structures, which according to Nós represent three stages of life.

"Artificial and natural gardens are mixed along topographic parcours, linking the three main pavilions and evoking the three stages of life," the studio continued.

"By offering a diversity of spaces and atmospheres, the multi-generational residence becomes conducive to different stages of human existence within a perpetual generational cycle."

The Three Summits home is situated at the highest point of the site, allowing for unobstructed views of the mountainous landscape.

The connecting walkways, entrances to the house and undersides of overhanging roofs were clad in timber.

A pitched-roof cabin with granite walls and a metal-clad gable end on a snowy mountain
Gable ends were covered in sheet metal

The main entrance connects two cabin structures.

On one side is the cabin containing the home's master suite and indoor car garage, while the other cabin has a lowered floor level aligning with the slope of the mountain and accommodates communal areas.

Three granite and metal cabins in a snowy clearing on a mountain surrounded by trees
The home's pitched roofs were designed to reference the surrounding mountains

Leading from the shared living area is the third cabin, which has three levels containing additional bedrooms.

Other homes designed for multi-generational families include a V-shaped timber house in a countryside village in the Czech Republic and two flats in a Mumbai high-rise that were combined into one home.

The photography is by Eric Petschek.

More images and plans

Floor plan of the Three Summits house in Vermont by Nós
Basement floor plan of the Three Summits house in Vermont by Nós
Elevation drawing of the Three Summits house in Vermont by Nós
Elevation drawing of the Three Summits house in Vermont by Nós
Elevation drawing of the Three Summits house in Vermont by Nós
Elevation drawing of the Three Summits house in Vermont by Nós
A corridor with wood flooring and ceiling, a white internal wall on one side and a concrete exterior wall with windows
Windows looking out to a pond in a forest
A living room with a white sofa, lounge chairs and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a forest
Two timber steps leading down to a living room with a white sofa and large windows overlooking a courtyard
One-storey brick building with a pitched metal rood and planted garden in front
A bathroom with a freestanding bathtub and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a planted garden
A living room with a white sofa and floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto a courtyard
A corner on a lounge space with a chair next to floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a garden
An open-plan living and dining room with a long wooden table and floor-to-ceiling windows
Aerial view of a home made up of three cabins in a snowy clearing in a forest
Two cabin structures with granite walls and timber panels on a snowy mountainside
Two cabin structures with granite walls and metal-clad gable ends connected by a glazed walkway
Three cabin structures with granite walls and metal-clad gable ends connected by glazed walkways on a snowy mountainside
Timber-clad one-storey entrance connecting two cabin structures on either side
Two cabins with granite walls and metal-clad gable ends in a snowy forest
Cabin home with outdoor space with timber roof on a snowy mountainside
Three cabin structures with granite walls and metal-clad gable ends in a snowy clearing
Two cabins with granite walls and metal roofs connected by a glazed walkway
Two cabins with granite walls and metal roofs in a snowy clearing with trees
Close up of the granite walls and metal roofs of the Three Summits house by Nós
Close up of the granite walls and metal roofs of the Three Summits house by Nós