maurizio bianchi mattioli's '360 house' is an avant-garde mountain home

a new mountain house with 360-degree views

Studio MBM founder Maurizio Bianchi Mattioli looks to the remote forests outside Park City, Utah to design the ‘360 House.’ The project is designed to cover 2,800 square feet and is recognized at once by the circular footprint and concentric windows from which it takes its name. With this rounded layout and glazed envelope, the dwelling opens broadly out toward its wooded surroundings.

The architect notes that the house is currently under development. Once built, it will introduce a modern reinterpretation of the typical mountain home defined by its pitched roofline, warm timber construction, and large windows ensuring views across the stunning peaks.

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the diagram by maurizio bianchi mattioli

From the early design stages, Maurizio Bianchi Mattioli’s 360 house is derived from a simple parti diagram — a circle disrupted by four linear segments forming an off-center cross. The diagram is thoughtfully translated into a built space which results in flexible and reconfigurable interiors. Linear elements take shape as structural volumes which subdivide the house into rooms. Installed along a system of tracks, three of these partitions are allowed to slide open or closed according to the needs of the occupant. The fourth of these linear structures is fixed in place, thickened, and occupied by services and storage.

‘From the exterior, the roof sits on its structure as a seemingly solid monolithic volume,’ the architect tells designboom. ‘From the interior, the roof reads as a thickened shell with two perpendicular divisions that enclose four interior voids on the upper half of the interior space.’

a circular home with a pitched roof

The team led by Maurizio Bianchi Mattioli formalizes the circular profile of the 360 House as a single massing — a cylindrical volume truncated to introduce the pitched rooftop familiar to the mountain town. This slope is expressed along the double-height interiors, creating a unique ceiling condition. Interrupting the rooftop is a cluster of three circular openings, which form a skylight, a chimney, and an intimate, suspended terrace accessed by a spiral stair.

Mattioli elaborates on the project’s unique geometry, and its relationship with its site: ‘The roof wedge references local vernacular of the heavy-snow prone region and the chosen construction materials directly respond to the rugged nature of the house’s remote mountain setting.’

the interiors can be divided into four rooms, or opened up to celebrate panoramic views

the sustainable design

The project integrates sustainable technologies to adapt to its secluded site. A system of water collection and an underground cistern provide a water source for garden irrigation and for the outdoor shower which is carved out from the largest wall. Meanwhile, the pitched roof is fit with photovoltaics panels on its south slope. A radiant heating and cooling system with coil fans integrated into the roof shell creates a passive recirculating system within the house. Together with the wood-burning stone fireplace and cross ventilation during the summer months, these strategies help to regulate the interior climate across the year.

a fixed structural volume is occupied by services and storage
the roof seems to float atop a concentric array of operable full-height windows