WASATCH RESIDENCE

This site is positioned within the heart of a reasonably dense residential neighborhood in Ogden Utah yet is just a couple of blocks away from the base of the Wasatch Mountain Range. Opening the house to these views while maintaining privacy from nearby structures was a driving force in the house’s design. Windows stretch from the kitchen, through the dining room and wrap two sides of the living room. The living room’s corner windows and upturned roof open onto the rear yard and mountains beyond. That same view is framed in a decidedly different manner in the study from a strip of windows set at eye level when seated at the desk. On the opposite wall, a similarly proportioned window down at the floor provides an intimate view of the entry courtyard. A large square window positioned close to the peak of the primary bedroom’s vaulted ceiling frames Ben Lomond Mountain far to the north.

The house is located within a residential neighborhood which is remarkably eclectic in its architectural expression. Staid faux Tudor homes from the 1920s sit comfortably next to glassy low-slung ranch houses from the early 1960s. This granted the freedom to use traditional materials and forms but in a contemporary articulation. The house’s layout was shaped by the sloped site while also subtly referencing the 1970s split-level homes that also populate the district. The public spaces of the house are set a half level up from the entry, with a guest/workout space down a half level. Above are two bedrooms, one of which is the primary which is reached through the study that bridges the two parts of the home.

One of the clients is the grandson of a mason and brick is a common material found throughout Ogden. Here, a rich brown Emperor brick is laid with deeply raked joints reinforcing the horizontality of the front façade. The brick floats across a large void cut through the center of the house at the main entry. A screen filters views from this area to the private yard behind. Two board-formed concrete walls anchor the house to the site. The framed roof lines of the house are exposed both inside and out.