Tributary House

Context
Rare flora and rich diversity of migratory bird species distinguish the Teton River Basin as a private land conservation priority in the 26 million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Among the Basin’s most important and threatened ecological features is Woods Creek Fen – a 4,000-acre peat-forming complex fed by groundwater originating within the nearby Teton Range. In the early 2000s, a large-lot subdivision was approved on the edge of this ecological phenomenon, its trajectory temporarily halted in 2008 due to the economic crash. Under new ownership, the half-finished development was resurrected in 2017. Our clients – a multi-generational family – purchased a 1.2-acre lot at the end of a cul-de-sac.

Education
Initial conversations with the family revealed widely differing perceptions of landscape design. The landscape architect – inspired by author Wallace Stegner’s focus on the scarcity of rainfall in “Beyond the Hundredth Meridian” – promoted awareness and education of relevant sustainability topics to ensure an understanding of aridity in the West. Allied with redefined conservation values, these principles helped form an unwavering commitment to responsible living.

Response
While a neighborhood-scale framework of constructed wetlands had been initially implemented, individual lots remained perched over the existing landscape with little connection to adjacent natural systems. With a vision for a seamless transition between disturbed and preserved lands, the team proposed an atypical approach where macro-scale restoration strategies addressing landform, hydrology, soil, and ecology preceded design decisions, informing a symbiotic result between architecture and land. Emerging from its riparian setting, the home – two, agrarian-inspired wooden structures linked by a transparent glass foyer – invites the landscape to permeate interior spaces while outdoor interventions remain disciplined and contained.

Challenging Convention
Although the neighborhood plan acknowledged its proximity to sensitive lands, its guidelines proposed conventional suburban aesthetics incongruous with the rural setting, including a requirement for planting “bluegrass sod across the front yard, along the entire front property line, in the side, and rear yards to create continuity.” In response, the team opted to create a progressive, sustainable case study that advances resiliency and stewardship in a region facing shifting climate conditions:

• Biodiversity: Establishes priority conservation bird habitat and soil stabilization with a drought-tolerant meadow covering 90% of the property.
• Water: Requires irrigation only for establishment, resulting in bolstered streamflow and restored fish habitat; Reestablishes drainageways to direct and filter onsite runoff before joining the fen.
• Scenic: Prioritizes dark sky, uninhibited wildlife movement and landscape continuity; Restores land adjoining communal spaces with native plantings; Exceeds planting guidelines by twice the requirement.

Impact
Protecting, restoring, and stewarding Western rural lands is critical to both the natural and economic future of this vast region. In communities where residents tend to prioritize individual expression over long-term conservation strategies, landscape architects can lead an educational framework that juxtaposes human impacts of development and the interconnected relationships and processes that link site-specific and regional natural resources.