Zachary Kuderna

Ostelin

Vail projects an image of alpine luxury and world-class hospitality, this façade rests on the labor of a vulnerable workforce. Seasonal workers, service employees, and hospitality staff can no longer afford to live in the communities they sustain. Corporate consolidation under Vail Resorts has accelerated gentrification, transforming once working mountain towns into exclusive enclaves.

Ostelin draws on historic and contemporary precedents of worker housing. From purpose-built employee housing to cooperative housing experiments, all to develop strategies that address both affordability and quality of life. At the heart of this vision, the courtyard becomes a spatial framework for community engagement, mutual support, and daily interaction.

Throughout the project, a series of interconnected courtyards create opportunities for gathering, rest, and collaboration. By making labor visible in the mountain terrain and giving it a place to live and grow, Ostelin proposes an alternative to typical resort housing. In doing so, it reframes mountain urbanism as a practice that serves not only visitors, but the workers who maintain it.