Moments of Meditation in a Utah Buddhist's Retreat
A week after seeing one of Imbue Design's
projects in Salt Lake City, the head of a local nonprofit that develops
low-income housing hired the company — composed of Christopher Talvy,
Hunter Gundersen and Matt Swindel — to design a retreat for her on a
dramatic site between Capitol Reef and Boulder Mountain. In addition to
running her business, she is a practicing Buddhist
of the Tibetan sect, and her retreat consists of a residence
(completed) and a studio (under construction). We'll take a tour of the
residence and see how the architects created a place that, as they put
it, "spiritualizes the daily tasks of living."
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A practicing Buddhist with two Chihuahuas
Location: Wayne County, Utah
Size: 1,350 square feet
That's interesting: One leg of the Y-shaped residence is built of gabions, rock-filled wire baskets normally used for retaining walls.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A practicing Buddhist with two Chihuahuas
Location: Wayne County, Utah
Size: 1,350 square feet
That's interesting: One leg of the Y-shaped residence is built of gabions, rock-filled wire baskets normally used for retaining walls.
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One element that makes the house interesting is the use of gabions
for exterior walls. Gabions are wire baskets that are filled with
stones, broken concrete, and/or gravel; they are often used as retaining
walls. When used in buildings, gabion walls give the impression that a
building rises from the land; in the case of this Buddhist
retreat, the stones filling the baskets were actually gathered from the
property, combined with gravel from nearby.
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by Imbue Design
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It's easy to see why rooting the
building to its place would make sense in this part of Utah. The
immediate site (about 7,000 feet above sea level) has a steep drop and
distant views under the expansive sky. "Tying the project to its
environment literally and figuratively," as the architects describe it,
allows the house to be a place of calm and stability in the context of
desert, mountains and lots of juniper trees.
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In plan the house resembles a
lowercase "Y," with the long bar covered in gabions intersecting at an
angle with a two-story volume covered in standing-seam metal panels.
These volumes relate respectively to the living area and the bedrooms.
Here we see them flaring off to capture views to the east (living area)
and north (bedroom).
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The glass expanses on the ends and the primarily solid end walls are accentuated in this photograph taken at dusk.
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About half of the long
rectangular plan defined by the gabions is exterior storage, tucked
under the roof as it merges with the rocky site. The gabion walls'
"growing" from the site really comes across in this view toward the
exterior storage. An opening on the other side (toward the view in the
first photo) allows passage under this part of the building.
Note the railings atop the gabion walls; more on this soon.
Note the railings atop the gabion walls; more on this soon.
by Imbue Design
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It's worth pointing out a couple
of things about gabions: The stones need to be larger than the grid of
the basket (the mesh at the bottom enables a more solid base with
gravel), and gabions are not a weather-tight construction, given the
spaces between the stones.
Imbue Design used the gabions as a facing in front of a solid wall but took advantage of the stones' ability to absorb heat during the day and radiate it at night, creating a means of passive heating appropriate to the place.
Imbue Design used the gabions as a facing in front of a solid wall but took advantage of the stones' ability to absorb heat during the day and radiate it at night, creating a means of passive heating appropriate to the place.
by Imbue Design
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Another very interesting aspect
of the retreat is how it is almost invisible on approach. Here is a view
from the driveway, where some boulders keep cars off the roof of the
gabion-covered volume. As the architects describe the approach: "The
design grows from the site. When you arrive at the project, you are
introduced to a 93-foot-long deck made of resilient ipe wood."
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They add that "93 feet later, you
find yourself perched on top of the architecture with a mind-blowing
360-degree view of Capitol Reef, Grover Valley and Boulder Mountain."
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From the roof, access to the
house proper is via a stair that brings one to the outdoor space between
the gabion walls seen earlier.
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The front door is aligned with
the stair. From here we can see the three materials that make up the
house's exterior: metal panels, gabions and wood. We can also see how
the gabions and wood cladding work together to make a thicker wall
assembly.
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The entry aligns with the large
window that faces east, so immediately one is reminded of the
surroundings, even when inside. The glass wall that we saw near the
beginning slides open to connect inside and outside. The floor, walls
and ceiling extend past the sliding glass wall to create a small outdoor
zone and aid in shading the living room.
Access to the main bedroom, which angles off on the short leg of the lowercase "Y," can be seen at left. |
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Turning 180 degrees, we're now
looking toward the entry (frosted-glass door on the right) and the open
kitchen. The spiral stair heads to the roof and the home office on the
second floor.
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The windows that are cut into the
side walls are selective and suited to the interior. In the previous
photo we saw the low window above the kitchen counter and stove, and
here the dining table and window work together (it's as if the table
dropped down from the wall, like an ironing board) to frame a view
perpendicular to the large view through the sliding glass door.
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Here we are in the main bedroom,
looking toward the living area (opening at left) and master bath
(hallway at right). We finally meet the owner's two Chihuahuas, which
the architects even considered in the design: Note the low windows on
the way to the bathroom. (Yes, the windows may also serve to ventilate
the spaces, but I like the idea of their giving the dogs their own view
outdoors.)
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by Imbue Design
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Our last view of the house is from the second-floor home office and its view to the north.
While the soon-to-be-completed separate studio will be more basic than the house in terms of amenities (as it will be geared more toward enriching meditation), the house's orientation, terraces and simplicity offer what the architects describe as "moments for meditation." A calmness and sense of belonging are evident with the house inside and out. |
