Modern Awakening
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Products
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Uno Mod
Uno's been around since the early 1970s, and the simple card game never seems to lose its appeal. The classic design just got a graphic update with the recently released Uno Mod, which comes in a…
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Salt Chair
Pros The slim bentwood seat lends an impression of solidity without adding actual heft: The chair weighs fewer than eight pounds. The narrow profile and small footprint makes it ideal for tight…
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Twist Salt Cellar
Spice up the nibbles on hand with this take on the salt cellar, a traditional housewarming gift.
Events
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It's a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod City
Join the Los Angeles Conservancy and its Modern Committee as they explore 1960s non-residential gems in the South Bay area of Greater Los Angeles. This special one-time-only tour will highlight…
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Miami Modern Metropolis:Paradise and Paradox in Midcentury Architecture and Planning- Book Launch
Book signing and presentation by Allan Shulman, Editor of Miami Modern Metropolis, explores Miami's physical and cultural past to reveal how it has developed into a truly paradoxical city.
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Related Products
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Uno Mod
Uno's been around since the early 1970s, and…
-
Salt Chair
Pros
The slim bentwood… -
Twist Salt Cellar
by Philip Bro LudvigsenSpice up the nibbles on hand with this take on…
I have lived in utah, and there is a reason modern design has not taken off, that flat roof will be leaking before you know it, and those windows wil be letting in cold air in emmigration canyon all winter, and the heat in all summer. i think its cool he is living out his dream in a beautiful spot, but this is 2009, and we need to look forward, and intigrate new technologies and building methods and stop worshiping the past and namedroping dead architects.Go green, respect the past and move on.I thought this magazine was about design, not mormons.
I think it's important when disigning to discern the difference between the enjoyment of using mid-century modern design for its aesthetics and funcionality and the pull of nostalgia. Referencing past design styles is a good thing. Nostalgia in architecture never is.
Sorry...but there is nothing creative about this house. It is a copy of the standard Phillip Johnson's Glass House....and it is furnished straight out of DWR Catalogue !!! What's up with DWELL these days ? Can't they find novel architecture these days ? What happen to Gehry, Arquitectonica, Zapata and the likes ?
No question about it, Utah definitely has a unique culture, overwhelmingly influenced by the pervasive Mormon presence. But it would be an oversimplification to paint the whole state or even greater Salt Lake basin with a broad "Hicksville" brush. A trip to the Church's history museum and visitor's center adjacent to the SLC Temple (both of which definitely do offer tours) would have shown how turn of the century Mormon leaders were caught up in the arts and crafts renaissance and made conscientious efforts to train, support and patronize members of the creative professions. Intriguingly, many of the Mormon Church's mid-century architects were Taliesin West educated and responsible for some great 50's kitsch design in Mormon meeting houses of the era. Also check out the pre-Columbian influenced Mormon temples in Alberta, Canada, Mesa, Arizona, and Hawaii.
i agree with tonx. take a look at any of the temples the mormons have built in the last 20 years. the washington dc, portland,or, los angeles temples are no less than ultra-modern inspired deign. unlike any modern buildings anywhere. and the attention to details with the culture of the locale. and i have been through the new cultural center, absolutely flawless design. i am not an architect, but i know inspired design when i see it. the salt lake temple when it was built was unlike anything in america at the time. the arts and crafts, whether performing arts, architecture or fine arts has always been a mormon legacy. so maybe not branding utah, or even mormon culture as hicks is not totally accurate.
Beautiful home. Not extremely unique, but it's simple and nice and that's how I like them. I grew up in SLC and often take drives up Emigration to enjoy the scenery and the houses. Although most of the recently built homes in that canyon are too traditional for their own good, there have been quite a few very nice modern designs popping up. It's exciting to see one of them on here. Also, the majority of people in this state seem to over-react to any kind of outside criticism, so don't be surprised if you see more of these "Don't call Utah hicksville" comments. I've lived here for almost all of the 25 years of my life and can tell you that outside of Salt Lake City, this place is hicksville. I love this state and and would hate to leave it, but a lot of the people here need to get out of their bubble and realize they live in a strange culture.
Like the house. Photography is mediocre at best. What is wrong with a pickup truck? Can't pull a roofing trailer with public transit. You want to build things or not?
50% on mormons being weird, 50% on the actual design and project. i learned from this piece that mormons started a religious 'utopia' back in the day, are strange hicks that like country music and are uncommonly private and unwelcoming to outsiders. All of which is completely inaccurate, offensive and sadly the norm put forth by most uninformed people.
I think it's sad when people open up there homes so other people might enjoy taking a look at there dreams and comments come out about religion and pick up trucks. Come on folks.. enjoy..
interesting comments. glad you guys enjoyed it. my own 2 cents.... i thought the article was weak and the photos were great. anyone wanting to talk modernism and utah please hit me up. thanks - brent
Come on, it is better than 99% of all of the houses built in the USA. Tough crowd.
i have read through all these posts, and i have to say, i expected a bit more from slc natives-or apparent natives. i am by no means a native to slc, i moved here from denver 13 years ago for snow purposes (prior to that was s.f., london and dublin, irl). i was immediately enamored with the many canyon coves that supply m.c.m. builds (even the avenues and federal heights have a few stand-out designs-13th and g st., for example). my wife and i bought into olympus cove because of the 1950/60's architectural designs. and whoever said there are no flat roofs in slc/utah is drinking way too much utah ''diet beer'-for the love of christ, you're kidding, right?!?! i will agree in that most flat roof designs were not built to carry the heavy snow loads that we can get (leaks, sag, fatigue, etc.). our house, butted into the side of mt. olympus (along with our neighbor's), are all flat roofs with ceiling to floor windows that wrap around the homes to allow for the spectacular views. and to all who bring the whole mormon thing into this conversation-give it a break. i am so over this b.s. yes, there are mormons in utah, some are cool, some are freaks-just like catholics, jews, baptists (etc.) or any other group following a mass '$piritual' dictatorship(s). brent, i believe you are behind the beta site http://utahmodern.com/, if so what is it's status? i seem to remember reading something somewhere where (again i believe it was) you that was going to have gatherings in some of slc's m.c. homes-am i wrong in this?
john you got it right we have some great modern heritage in utah. and it does work if you do it right. olympus cove is one of my favorite areas! i'm a little jealous you are closer to the slopes than i am.... still doing utahmodern and my other projects www.poliformslc.com but creede at grassroots modern has really perfected the local modern blog. you should check it out. www.utahmodern.org he also has some good things going with a group on facebook. they just did an open house and have others planned. i wanted to go but was out of town. come by and visit me down at poliform anytime to talk more utah modernism. thanks russell!
thanks brent! i love poliform (my parents live down the road from one of their stores in rome)-my wife and i only wish we could re-do our kitchen in it, however we are more geared towards that of a bosch budget. thanks for the links, joined the facebook site today and am going to join the cause to save utah's jems, as well.
Regardless of how "current events" the architectural visions behind this project are, you can't debate that it's very well executed. In the spatial proportions but also in the materials. It seems to be a very nice space to live in.
I'm a little late to the party here. Brent's house is beautiful, no matter what state it's in. Surprisingly Utah has a very rich history of modern architecture going back to the 50's. We are continuing to see wonderful progressive architecture, although it is fewer and farer between than us Utah modernist would like. :) If you are in Utah and love modernism, we have a great facebook page. Search for "Salt Lake Modern" on facebook to find us. Also check out the following. http://SLModern.org http://UtahModern.org http://Grassrootsmodern.com Grassroots is the most active, but hopefully good things will come of the others.
Come on, it is better than 99% of all of the houses built in the USA.- I dont think this is true!
It seems like some of you are just picking out single sentences and attacking them. I agree with Brent the interviewee, the article could have been written in a little stronger and focused more on the home rather then the quick tour up to Emmigration Canyon. I am from Salt Lake as well and you do have to look but the modernism movement is gaining ground and so is the green movement. Brent your home is amazing and one of a kind.
that is my house as soon as I make my fortune
on the entire 'mormon' issue: seriously? first off, utah is actually not majority-mormon, so the assumption that this family is mormon in their religion is the result of a huge misconception that everyone living in utah must be mormon. that being said - i somehow don't see how someone's faith will affect what i think of their home design... maybe i'm missing something. oh yeah, bigotry. oh well, i'd rather be without that. on the house: it is very plain and somewhat cold-feeling on the outside. on the inside it is furnished very nicely - clean but warm. i agree, however, that it is not overly unique. that being said, the point of a home is not so that it can be unique (did anyone see the slideshow of an apartment in europe, don't remember where, young-ish guy that stripped out this amazing moldings and floor and replaced it all with these wierd curved-looking shelves that were white and then super-bright colors inside like green and orange? that was definitely unique... and not nice at all). i don't think, however, that this house can withstand the utah environment and weather for long. i didn't see any details about what materials they use, which Dwell has usually been very good at (i.e. protections for the glass or the roof, rainwater or snow systems). so i'm assuming there isn't anything special done here... meaning yes, there probably will be a big problem after a winter or two. pretty interiors, though. simplistic, clean, minimally warm.
Okay, lots of talk about the flat roofs here in Utah. Many would be very surprised to find that there are literally HUNDRED of homes in the Salt Lake area with flat roofs. And many hundreds more with the traditional MCM roof: only slightly raked. Those who still hold to the idea that these roofs cannot withstand the rigors of a Utah winter, even a heavy one which we have just had, are laboring under the construction norms of decades ago. The membranes and techniques of today can very well handle whatever Mother Nature has to say about it. I've been in Brent's house, and while it is not "unique" it offers something lacking in the mindset of most of today's home buyers: minimalism. It's cool and unassuming. And in today's building market, THAT'S unique, especially around here. This home completely maximizes the views of the surrounding nature without seeking to dominate. Modern doesn't have to be garish. This house, and others like it, are a breath of fresh air around here. Clean, crisp, cool. Just my $0.02.
Very interesting comments here. As a licensed Real Estate agent for over 20 years in Utah I can assure you, any of the comments that try to minimize what something this unique to this area is, simply does not understand the setting. This design goes so far against the norm of the typical mountain cabin or pitched roof style that dominates every canyon setting in Utah. Great location!!! Even better design!!!
Did I miss the part of the article where they said this beautiful house was LDS? I must say I am surprised at the lack of 'Utah' education some of the commenters have. ;) Maybe many of you have never been here? I am a generational native, and Utah, whether a weirdly religious state or not, is definitely not starving for great Mid Century Modern homes or new century Modernism. My Grandfather Cliff Jolley -a true modernist and forward thinker- was one of the first Modern Architects in Utah, and truly ahead of his time. He designed many of the MCM homes in Holladay and Olympus Cove. Modernism in Utah, while never over-saturated, exists, and flourishes. Immigration Canyon, truly an amazing setting for a beautiful take on a classic glass house. Extremely well-executed structural design, and a wonderful addition to the already spectacular scenery. lovemidcentury!
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