Knight Building

Replicability, scalability, and sustainability are all words that describe the importance of this impactful project. The Knight Building was built to address the urgent need for high-quality workforce housing in this resort mountain town, which also faced rising construction costs and labor shortages. To quickly create homes for people who work in Big Sky and to meet architectural and budget goals, the project team chose a modular mass timber system.

Workforce housing is often associated with cramped, dormitory-style spaces, but this three-story project differentiates itself by providing 95 resort employees with privacy as well as a warm and bright place to live. It also adds safety and convenience since many of those now living here had been traveling over a mountain pass, often hazardous in winter, to reach work each day.

The building’s exterior is comprised of durable Douglas fir cladding designed to weather naturally, helping the structure blend into the landscape. Inside, natural light streams into the furnished units while exposed wood adds warmth and a sense of home. Each resident has a private bedroom; bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, mudrooms, and lounge areas are shared. The suite configuration gives the employees, many who have come from overseas to work at Big Sky, the chance to interact with each other.

By combining mass timber with factory-based modular construction, the project aligned material performance and design quality with efficient delivery, allowing the CLT-based system to meet the client’s need for speed, cost certainty, and construction reliability.

A highly collaborative process was key to the project’s success. Architects, builders, fabricators, and subcontractors worked throughout design and construction within a shared digital twin, coordinating structure, MEP systems, fire protection, and finishes at the module level.