Gray s Swings for the Green The Golf Club at Gray s Crossing scores with sustainable design.

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1 Gray s Swings for the Green The Golf Club at Gray s Crossing scores with sustainable design. The pavilion-inspired restaurant/bar is one of the golf club s three buildings on track for LEED certification. 102 Mountain Home 2009

6 th Annual Tahoe Quarterly Mountain Home Awards Architect: Greg

Construction Interior Design: Jenna Shropshire Faulkner Architects Year

facilities; 1,188 pro shop; 3,303 restaurant/bar; 6,309 golf cart

2 6 th Annual Tahoe Quarterly Mountain Home Awards Architect: Greg Faulkner, Darrell Linscott Faulkner Architects Builder: Robert Marr Construction Interior Design: Jenna Shropshire Faulkner Architects Year Completed: 2008 Square feet: 18,867 total (8,067 locker and fitness facilities; 1,188 pro shop; 3,303 restaurant/bar; 6,309 golf cart storage) Story by SUSAN D. ROCK Photos by Ethan Rohloff C O M M E R C I A L Tahoe Quarterly 103

3 Glass panel doors open the restaurant/bar to a patio and lawn overlooking the 18th hole. B igger is usually better in the world of golf: Bigger drivers, bigger tee-shots, ultimately bigger greens fees. Tahoe Mountain Club, however, subscribes to the concept that small is beautiful, and sustainability a smart play. Tahoe Mountain Club recently completed the Golf Club at Gray s Crossing, a truly green venture that blends course and facilities into the surrounding mountain landscape with minimal impact on habitat and view corridors. Audubon International awarded the 18-hole championship course the top-level Gold Signature Sanctuary certification (one of 19 properties so designated worldwide) for meeting the environmental organization s exacting standards for design, construction and maintenance. And the private club s restaurant/bar, pro shop and fitness center are on track to be LEED silver certified for use of energy and water-saving elements as well as reclaimed and recycled materials. This was an exciting project for us, says lead architect Greg Faulkner. It was really satisfying to work for a client who was so forward thinking. The Truckee-based architect who had already collaborated with Tahoe Mountain Club on Northstarat-Tahoe s Schaffer s Camp (last year s TQ Mountain Home 104 Mountain Home 2009 Rocking chairs designed by Faulkner sit around the patio s fire pit, with the pro shop and fitness center in the background. Awards commercial winner) and the Sunset Idea House at Gray s Crossing was the logical choice for the job. Greg s unique design style, use of interesting materials and environmental sensitivity sets him apart when it comes to expressing Tahoe style, says Blake Riva of East West Partners, Tahoe Mountain Club s parent company. The client specifically requested a minimal-impact presentation. Faulkner responded with a series of low-slung, redwoodsided buildings where the emphasis is on the environment rather than the structures inhabiting it. It is understated for a golf club, says Faulkner. From all vantage points, the overall assemblage is organic, unbalanced.

4 From all vantage points, the overall assemblage is organic, unbalanced. Architect Greg Faulkner Housed in a low-slung building overlooking the practice area, the pro shop boasts big views of the Carson Range in the distance. Located on the 18 th hole of the Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy designed course, the three camp-style structures take a different approach to golf clubhouse design, which typically involves one large building. The subtle, single-story forms are recessed into an uphill grade; low-pitched roofs keep building masses under 16 feet in height. Built additively into the hillside in sunny clearings, the individual structures more or less conform to the site and surrounding landscape. Even the parking lot is carefully integrated by placing smaller groups of spaces between existing stands of mature pines and using a minimum of cut-and-fill and stone from site excavation. The result: The surrounding landscape and Carson Range prevail. The well-equipped fitness center with its lofty exposed steel beams, skylights and picture windows trained on the surrounding landscape feels airy and open, its mustardbrown plaster walls providing warmth. A series of clerestory windows provides plenty of light, and sliding glass doors allow the outside in. The adjoining men s and women s locker rooms, which feel more residential than commercial, lead to respective barn-like spa pool areas, each warmed by a free- standing forged-iron gas hearth and hood. A small seasonal swimming pool and deck await beyond. The adjacent low-key pro shop is smaller than most by half. At 1,188 square feet, it s more about getting golfers out on the course than selling the requisite shirts, shoes and visors. The club s handsome restaurant and bar is where Faulkner s mastery of organic design shines. Exposed steel beams and Douglas fir timbers create the sturdy ceiling overhead; poured concrete and steel-inlay floors provide an anchor below. A stunning bar is wrapped in Northern California burlwood and topped with hot-rolled steel. Mike Yankin of Sitecraft Construction built the tables and chairs that Faulkner envisioned; the lighting fixtures were custom-crafted by the architect s lighting company, Faulknerworks. Windows are minimally framed with steel to optimize views of the surrounding forest and Mount Rose in the distance. Special attention was given to the steel work, says Robert Marr Construction s Gerry Rodriguez, who had also worked with Tahoe Mountain Club and Faulkner on the Sunset house. Working within Faulkner s details is something we re very comfortable with. Tahoe Quarterly 105

Photo by jenna shropshire TAHOE quarterly Detailing in the restaurant/bar pairs steel framing (to match the building s doors and windows) with glass, copper and

Members and their guests can dine on the patio in warmer weather or adjourn to the handcrafted rocking chairs surrounding the teepee-inspired gas fire pit.

The project, which took two years to complete, was built for approximately $400 per square foot, an admirable feat considering its rich palette of materials,

5 Photo by jenna shropshire TAHOE quarterly Detailing in the restaurant/bar pairs steel framing (to match the building s doors and windows) with glass, copper and hot-rolled steel panes. Moveable glass wall panels further blur the distinction between indoors and out. The idea behind the design was a pavilion, says Faulkner. Members and their guests can dine on the patio in warmer weather or adjourn to the handcrafted rocking chairs surrounding the teepee-inspired gas fire pit. From here, the golf cart barn uphill, constructed from fluted concrete forms stained to match the surrounding pine tree bark, blends into its surroundings. The project, which took two years to complete, was built for approximately $400 per square foot, an admirable feat considering its rich palette of materials, craftsmanship and eco-friendly fundamentals. It s a small, humble gesture toward sustainability, says Faulkner. And in this case, also a beautiful one. TQ 106 Mountain Home 2009

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