Download Group P: Eight Sides, One Hearth Our octagonal, radially

Group P: Eight Sides, One Hearth
Our octagonal, radially-organized mountain hut is situated on the Symphony
Upper Bowl of Whistler Mountain. It takes advantage of its eight-sided logic to
organize interior sleeping space on the upper level while exploiting the radial
geometry of the octagon for the main level organization as well. On the upper
sleeping level, each member of a group of eight can occupy a side of the CLT
panel structure and enjoys a slender vertical view of the surrounding mountains.
Tall slender windows are advantageous for this design as they allow minimal
radiant heat loss to a sleeping skier, do not impose on the structural performance
of the CLT and offer a view of the surrounding mountains during a daytime lie
down or a view of the stars at night. Beds are fastened to the canting CLT roof
panels at 50 cm off the ground to allow for gear storage under the beds, while
vertical cubby separators offer additional support for the beds and gear storage.
Gear hooks located at the CLT panel joints on the roof offer privacy between
adjacent beds as occupants hang their coats and snow pants to take advantage
of rising heat coming up from the fire below to dry gear. As one moves down the
partial spiral staircase at the center of the sleeping level one senses the heat
rising from the fire below and circles the most multifunctional component of our
design. The rolled hollow steel column at the center of our building functions to
supports the stairs, provides stability to the roof, and transfers snow load to the
ground. It also houses a flue and water drain at its center. The drain is a pipe that
wraps the around the flue, using the heat rising from the fire to melt snow on the
roof and convey it down to the sink area adjacent the fire for drinking and cooking
water. To the outside of the melt water pipe is 7 cm of Rockwoolto insulate the
structural steel against the heat that escapes the melt water. At the bottom of the
stairs the fireplace hugs close to the center of the building and is located below
the landing at the top of the stairs. On the bottom side of the stairs there are
hooks to take advantage of drying the many damp clothing articles that one has
after a day skiing. All the members of our team have been into the back country
and acknowledge that gear storage and finding an organized way to dry out boot
liners, gloves ect… is one of the greater challenges, which is why we have given
this extra attention in our design.
Also on the main level, one finds a table for dining and food prep that wraps
around the fireplace. On a sunny day one feels warmth on their back when sitting
at the dining table as three large south-facing windows catch the low-angle winter
light. In the summer, these solar gains are mitigated with an overhanging slotted
louver system that shades the windows while allowing snow and rain to pass
through. These windows are paired with heavy wool shades to offer thermal
insulation on cloudy days in the winter and during nighttime. The windows only
take up ¾ of the south-facing CLT panels so as not to compromise the structural
integrity of the panels.
Our hut design consists of 5-ply CLT panels, one glulam beam and a HSS
column as the primary structural members and makes use of prefabricated
panels to quicken the assembly time on site. The panels are lightweight yet
strong and provide excellent acoustic, fire, seismic, vibration and thermal
performance. We have selected 5-ply CLT to accommodate earthquake loads
and window openings. The primary connections between panels feature selftapping screws which utilize the high withdrawal resistance and tensile strength
of the fastener at inclined installations. This angled installation transfer the load
along the screw axis, reducing perpendicular to grain splitting and parallel to
shear failure and ultimately, provides a high strength connection. Additionally,
self-tapping screws can be installed with commonly available tools, further
simplifying on site construction. Beyond the HSS column at the center and CLT
construction, the structure is further stayed by the use of four pre-tensioned steel
cables to provide lateral stabilization and prevent overturning while improving the
overall efficiency of the structure. Our hut is held a short distance off the ground
by 8 columns that extrude down from the 8 vertices of the octagonal
structure, and the HSS that comes down the center with the intention of having a
minimal impact on the surrounding environment.