GLASS TEEPEE

Design Team: Chris Moulder, AIA - Alex Charintsev, Nereida Ortiz

One day, out of the blue, a client called our office and said, “This is going to sound strange, but I want you to design a glass teepee. I’ll probably never build it, but I want to see what you would come up with.” Dubbe Moulder Architects enthusiastically accepted the challenge and crafted the design presented on this page.

With further guidance from the client, it evolved that the project would not be a full-blown house, but rather a smaller guest house, located on the Teton River in Teton Valley, Idaho. After the initial brainstorm, it became clear that this project was, yes, interesting, but also quite complicated as teepees do not have any vertical walls.

We moved forward, addressing this obstacle and created a beautiful, habitable space. Principal, Chris Moulder started with a basic teepee form and sheathed it in glass instead of the typically used canvas. This space was to be the primary living room, dining room, and kitchen, plus a second floor loft area. The bedroom and bathroom were designed to be in an adjoining, box-like structure, which would not be nearly as exposed. The roof of the bedroom wing features observation decks, providing many different levels to entertain and view the stunning landscape. 

One of the main features of Native American living is how the community is often organized around a fire feature. DMA provided a central fireplace inside the teepee and also an outdoor fire pit on the patio as a stunning gathering place for family and friends