LIFE BEYOND FIRST CLASS
DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE
BOLD AND SUSTAINABLE
Sparano + Mooney Architecture designs a LEED Gold certified, Wabi-Sabi residence that offers rare views and a close relationship with nature.
KATHERINE GANNON
PHOTOGRAPHY: MATT WINQUIST
Architects: Sparano + Mooney Architecture Builder: Living Home Construction Civil Engineer: McNeil Engineering Structural Engineer: Structural Design Studio
Preeminent Utah-based Sparano + Mooney Architecture is known for its boundless exploration and resounding devotion to the creative process, which has resulted in thoughtfully-innovative and award-winning contemporary design solutions throughout the American West.
Founders Anne Mooney, FAIA, and John Sparano, FAIA, share a passion for designing within rugged Western landscapes and have materialized projects of numerous scales across extreme topographies and various sectors, from renowned landmark art and cultural institutions to awe-inspiring residences.
True to their ethos, their recently completed residential project in Emigration Canyon above Salt Lake City celebrates a striking elevated canyon view with a rare and direct connection to its unique landscape.
Designed by Sparano + Mooney Architecture for a young family, this Wabi-Sabi residence was conceived as an expression of static and dynamic elements to reference the connections amongst the site’s mountain, vegetation, and wildlife.
The home’s site allows homeowners to enjoy the mountain vista from a uniquely-framed perspective, enhancing its indoor/outdoor relationship. The residence, separated into two blackened stained cantilevered volumes that float above the landscape, allows one to enjoy the tranquil mountain views and the dramatic views of the natural and urban landscapes while dividing public and private spaces.
Sparano + Mooney Architecture notes, “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 waste of the material. 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. This considered approach to materials extends to the selection of interior elements, fixtures, and furnishings.”
This home is also LEED Gold certified. The window system with operable openings at critical locations takes advantage of natural site ventilation, reducing the need for mechanical heating and cooling while enriching indoor air quality. The vegetated 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.