A Modern Home in the Hills, with Japanese Influences

Projects

A Modern Home in the Hills, with Japanese Influences

Project: Wabi-Sabi / Location: Salt Lake City, Utah / Architect: Sparano + Mooney Architecture / Location: Los Angeles and Salt Lake City / Builder: Living Home Construction / Photography: Matt Winquist

Located in Emigration Canyon above Salt Lake City, Utah, Wabi-Sabi house is a 4,000 square-foot home that espouses the ancient, Japanese philosophy that embraces the imperfect, incomplete and transient, says its designer Sparano + Mooney Architecture. It espouses simplicity and honesty in expression, those modest things that convey beauty as they weather and age.

The house for a young family celebrates a unique elevated canyon view with a rare and direct connection to nature. It represents an expression of both static and dynamic elements, referencing the relationship among the mountain, vegetation and wildlife on the site.

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Firm founders Anne Mooney, FAIA, and John Sparano, FAIA, designed the daring and sustainable home to frame the mountain vista and enhance the indoor/outdoor relationship of the inhabitant.

“The home is separated into two, cantilevered volumes that float above the landscape, and are finished with a blackened stain,” the firm says. “The north volume is oriented along an east-west axis, to address the tranquil mountain views to the north, and includes the home’s private, domestic functions. The southwest volume includes the more public, active gathering spaces and is oriented along the canyon axis toward dramatic views of the natural and urban landscapes.”

The exterior is clad with full-height, vertical cedar boards, which were sorted on-site. Construction waste was minimized through a preconceived modular, expressed in modest material selections. The overall height of the volumes was established based on the standard length of FSC-certified Western Red Cedar Select, a strategy that required less cutting and material waste.

“In addition, the large-format tile finish was established in a stack bond pattern that extends the full width of the corridors and patio, therefore maximizing coverage,” the project statement says. “This considered approach to materials extends to the selection of interior elements, fixtures and furnishings.”

Designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, the home includes an array of sustainable features. The window system was designed with operable openings at key locations to take advantage of natural site ventilation, thereby reducing the need for mechanical heating/cooling, and increasing indoor air quality. A vegetated (green) roof is planted with local grasses, camouflaging the home in its context, and the site is augmented with native and drought-tolerant plants and trees.

Additionally, the grading for the home has been integrated with the site topography to encourage the existing storm run-off to remain as unchanged as possible, while low-flow fixtures throughout the home reduce water consumption.

“These passive strategies were analyzed and implemented in this home’s design to minimize energy usage and further embed the client in the local climate,” the firm says. “The geometric nature of the residence was inspired by bold, minimal forms that could be kept as low-profile as possible and become integrated with the wild landscape.”