This Thanksgiving Day we are so grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with the best architects, designers, artists and consultants in the industry as we serve amazing clients who care so much about the built environment. A BIG thanks to our community, we hope you enjoy a relaxing day with loved ones!

A self-taught architect better known for his art, Ai Weiwei’s practice began with the simple need to build his own studio and residence. He sees architecture as shelter and fundamental to human survival, with the ability to "transform people’s conditions of existence". His architectural studio has developed a restrained style that speaks powerfully to the fundamentals – form, structure, proportion and light. His work is on exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London through mid-December.

This Fall season, we have been appreciative of the changing light in the spaces and landscapes we design and occupy. Image captures a sunset in the desert near Death Valley. "I sense light as the giver of all presences, and material as spent light. What is made by light casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to light." - Luis Kahn

Just like the footings of a building, no two are the same. This shoe, designed by architecture student Otto Steffan and Feetz for the FN Platform challenge at Pensole Footwear Design Academy, responds to biological and environmental conditions making it adaptable to change. Well designed architecture for your feet!

This week at the AIA Western Mountain Regional Conference in Keystone, Colorado, John is presenting the work of Sparano + Mooney Architecture and its grounding in the places and people of the American West. A heuristic design process guides the design team beyond convention to identify and illuminate the essential truths of each project.

One of our projects currently underway - glashausen - received a design award for architecture from the Utah State Division of Arts & Museums. Targeted for LEED Platinum certification, this model green home serves as a retreat within glass and concrete volumes integrated into an amazing mountain setting. glashausen is on exhibit at the Rio Gallery until October 23rd. Come by the gallery this Friday evening for a reception and to check out the design!

For Sparano + Mooney Architecture great design is at the heart of everything we do. Today at the AIA Utah Annual Conference, Anne has been invited to participate on a panel discussion on design process and firm culture moderated by architect, John Carney from the Jackson. Wyoming practice, Carney, Logan and Burke. These images are a series of study models for a project currently in progress.

A view from the road trip Anne recently took to the IMMERSION symposium for architects and architecture students dedicated to site-specific design in art and architecture in the American West. The symposium was held at the Open Air Museum in Nevada near the ghost town of Rhyolite.

Architect Billie Tsien FAIA will present today a lecture in Utah titled “All that is Solid”, discussing architecture as an act of profound optimism.

Photo: Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

We are all celebrating Jorge Beltran's 10th year with the Sparano + Mooney Architecture team! Jorge loves the creative process of developing architecture and his role in the evolution of a project from its conception to its final resolution. When he is not at work, Jorge is playing sports with his nephews, free-hand sketching, and spending time with family. Thank you so much, Jorge, for a decade of hard work and dedication!

This recent article in the NY Times has us applauding a growing recognition of architectural quality over quantity:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/realestate/a-tiny-house-fit-for-the-hamptons.html

Photo: The floor plan of the Cocoon Studio.

Even within a super-charged digital workplace, the analog is still part of the design process for some architects - including us! Sketching, drawing and model-building by hand has always played a role in our working methodology as it helps us develop architecture in ways the computer does not as in this sketch by John.

In Los Angeles this week stop by and visit the FLAT FIGURES exhibition in the Downtown Art Walk. The installation is part of a collaborative outreach project between SCI-Arc and SunCal that focuses on the advancement and transformation of the downtown Arts District. Coordinated by SCI-Arc Instructor, Florencia Pita and designed by a group of SCI-Arc students, FLAT FIGURES will be on view for one week only.

We would like to thank our interns Alan Taylor and Ethan Zagorec-Marks for all their efforts working as part of our architectural team this summer. Our architects have enjoyed working with these talented interns on the models, drawings, and design explorations our team is famous for and wish both the very best as they move on to other adventures. Alan is off to graduate school in the Pacific Northwest and Ethan will finish his last year as an undergraduate in architecture.

Award-winning architect, Joan Soranno, FAIA, will present today @UMFA about the “Here and Hereafter” through an exploration of sacred spaces. She will later join John Sparano, FAIA, for a tour of the Saint Joseph the Worker Church designed by our architectural team.

Photo Credit: Paul Crosby Photography

Our Emigration Canyon Residence will be featured in the 2015 USGBC Green Homes Tour this Saturday, August 22. Participants on the bus tour only will be able to visit this residence designed to capture expansive canyon views while offering a series of gathering and entertainment spaces for the family, both indoors and out. The house has earned the first United States Green Building Council LEED-H (Leadership in Energy and Environmental) Silver certification in the state. For tickets go to http://www.usgbcutah.org/event-1991163/Registration

We have been meeting a lot of talented makers lately, dedicated to craft and design excellence in a wide range of disciplines. One of these makers is ceramicist Todd Hayes. We met Todd working with the Utah State University community as we are helping them with the transformation of their Fine Arts Complex. Todd and our team at Sparano + Mooney Architecture share a dedication to materials, craft and making. Todd describes his work in this (very inspired and architectural) way, "Fundamentally I approach my work as though it is a set of problems that need solving. Design and utility are the primary elements I consider. Throughout the process I allow materials to inform me. Guided by an aesthetic of clarity and restraint, my wares are imbued with a sense of quiet sophistication and simplicity. Elegant linear refinement lends poised beauty to my functional tableware.”

One of our residential designs has been selected for this year’s USGBC Utah Green Homes Tour on August 22nd. Participants on the bus tour will visit Utah’s first LEED - H Silver Certified home designed by Sparano + Mooney Architecture. This residence, located in Emigration Canyon, features energy and water efficient systems, a zero maintenance and fire-resistant exterior and a small footprint. The design has been featured in Dwell and other publications in the US and around the world and has received design awards at the local, state and regional levels.