Extreme Skier Lexi duPont’s New Base Camp Is a Passive House in British Columbia

Stark Architecture uses prefabricated panels of cross-laminated timber to build an elevated ski retreat for the world champ.

Dec 7, 2020 - 23:51
Extreme Skier Lexi duPont’s New Base Camp Is a Passive House in British Columbia

Stark Architecture uses prefabricated panels of cross-laminated timber to build an elevated ski retreat for the world champ.

The exterior was sealed through shou sugi ban, an environmentally friendly fireproofing practice common in Japanese architecture. The black exterior seems to disappear into the evergreens from one angle, and pops against the white snow from another.

Triangles are a recurring motif in Lexi duPont’s life. In her family, she’s one of three sisters. As a pilot, she’s learned that triangles are a waypoint symbol in flight navigation. And as a professional big mountain freeskier, she glides down slopes and peaks.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls and ceilings give Lexi duPont’s home a cabin feel.

It’s only fitting that her home in Revelstoke, British Columbia, follows the theme. From its sharp, gable roof to the triangular courtyard, Trinity Passive by Stark Architecture is a 3,800-square-foot residence that works every angle.

Lexi’s career as a professional big mountain freeskier has taken her all over the world, and Trinity Passive in the woods of Revelstoke is full of reminders of her globe-trotting lifestyle. "It’s a cumulation of all of my life experiences coming together," she says.

The first visit to the site was on snowshoes, but traversing snow is second nature for Lexi, a Freeskiing World Tour contender and former Junior Olympics competitor. And while she hails from the family that owns the DuPont chemical company, her life and career choices center ecological conservation. (Her first home is a 500-square-foot geodesic dome in Sun Valley, Idaho.) For this retreat, she worked with principal architect David Arnott to ensure that the residence would focus on sustainability as much as comfort.

The home’s high-efficiency windows are oriented to maximize natural light. At night, the floating, wood-burning fireplace creates a cozy gathering space among lounge chairs and faux-fur throws. Vintage rugs on the concrete floor add an additional layer of warmth and texture.

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