The firm’s principals have years of experience creating architecturally unique residences for their clients. All projects are designed with the most specific of details that represent the client’s lifestyle. Grunsfeld Shafer Architects offers a full range of servies, begining with site selection, on to design development and through construction. Services are also provided for the interior selections of the project (paints, finishes, landscaping) in order to ensure that the house is reflective of its architecture.

Located at the mouth of the Little Cottonwood Canyon just south of Salt Lake City, Utah, Canyon House is sited on a steep and rugged foothill and takes full advantage of its spectacular mountainous environs. With a low profile and its emphasized horizontality, nearly half of the three-story house is buried below grade to reduce its apparent mass and respect the natural terrain.

The house consists of three components: a Pavilion, a Parterre, and a Box, all of which heighten one’s awareness of the terrain through their spatial arrangement on the site. Movement is effortless when walking along the mountain such as in the Pavilion’s hallway flanking the southern sculpture garden; but increases in difficulty as one communicates from level to level, moving against the natural grade.