Canyon House
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.
Movement is effortless when walking along the mountain (such as in the Pavilion hallway); but increases in difficulty as one communicates from level to level, moving against the natural grade.