Located at the mouth of the Little Cottonwood Canyon just south of Salt Lake City, Utah, Canyon House is sited on a steep and rugged foothill and takes full advantage of its spectacular mountainous environs. With a low profile and its emphasized horizontality, nearly half of the three-story house is buried below grade to reduce its apparent mass and respect the natural terrain. The house consists of three components: a Pavilion, a Parterre, and a Box, all of which heighten one’s awareness of the terrain through their spatial arrangement on the site.
Completely exposed, the living room features eighteen-foot high sheets of canted glass which contort toward panoramas of brilliant sunsets and thunderstorms that frequently engulf the Great Salt Lake valley and nearby Antelope Island.
The simple form and quiet demeanor of the Box houses both public and private spaces, including an exercise room, bathroom, ski storage room, and sauna on the lower level; kitchen, dining room, powder room, and closets on the first level; and the master bedroom and office on the upper level.
At the foyer, exterior materials are carried through to the interior to continue the house’s dialogue with nature.
The Pavilion’s voyeuristic transparency and expansive, open views simultaneously complement and contrast the Box’s highly controlled fenestration and intimate spaces.
Glass mosaic tiles, custom wood cabinetry, and polished stone countertops were selected to strengthen the house’s connection to the hues of the surrounding landscape. Designed by Grunsfeld Shafer Architects.
