Interlaken
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ARCHITECTURAL TEAM | John Sparano, Anne Mooney, Nate King, Mark James, Morgan Bennett
CONTRACTOR | North Ridge Construction
STRUCTURAL | TBSE Inc.
Interlaken residence is located on a lush mountain hillside in Heber City, Utah. This unique site offers incredible views of the surrounding landscape both touched and untouched by civilization. This residence is one of the last on its street as the terrain begins to ascend the mountainside, leaving nothing but intact land beyond the home.
Interlaken residence is grounded in a set of ideas relating to and inspired by the client’s career in and passion for culinary arts. We began our exploration by studying some of the main components practiced in this field: cutting, combining and manipulating. Transformation is something that happens all around us and is commonly overlooked in everyday tasks like cooking. These processes modify raw materials in order to produce a reaction that alters the matter into something more than just individual ingredients. This transformation of material can also be understood in broader terms as alchemy - blending and layering elements together to create something new.
Our team used these concepts and ideas to develop a heuristic device that would provide inspiration and guidance throughout the design process. The device is designed as a hanging mobile, layered with various knotted textile components. The textile layers begin to overlap as the mobile circulates in the air, transforming and revealing new patterns through the device and its cast shadows.
The residence is strategically positioned on the site to maximize the views of the surrounding landscape. This experience is not only accomplished by building orientation, but also through the design of custom operable metal screens that aid in filtering daylight and the presence of neighboring structures. The project is designed to create separate realms within the home for designated private and public spaces. As the architectural volumes emerge from the ground, the spaces seamlessly transform and flow into meticulously-oriented rooms and open spaces. The elevated main volume services living spaces and private dwelling rooms while cantilevering over the landscape at each end. A set of stairs provides access to additional living quarters in a private upper volume. The project also features a multi-level light well that penetrates the entire architectural form, bringing light into the center of the home and providing a glimpse of the sky upon arrival.
