Kirigami, a contemporary winter retreat by Sparano + Mooney Architecture, draws its name from the Japanese art of kirigami. The clients’ appreciation of Japanese culture informed the conceptual framework of the house, shaping its spatial organisation and architectural expression.
Location and environmental conditions
The residence is located at Powder Mountain ski resort in Utah, USA, within the Wasatch Range at an elevation of 8,800 feet. Designed as a ski-in/ski-out retreat, the house occupies a fully exposed mountain site that receives an average annual snowfall of 225 inches.
The climatic conditions required a structure capable of withstanding wind speeds of 110 miles per hour and supporting a snow load of 228 pounds per square foot. These environmental demands established the performance requirements for the structural system and envelope.
Scale and spatial organisation
The house has a floor area of 5,740 square feet and is organised across multiple levels.
The upper level contains a primary suite stepped five feet above the main floor. This suite includes a private deck and steam shower and can be separated from the rest of the house, allowing for privacy when required.
The dining room opens onto the courtyard through a multi-slide door system, extending the primary living spaces outwards. The main kitchen is fully open, without ceiling-mounted cabinetry or suspended fixtures, maintaining continuous sightlines across the space.
A separate scullery kitchen, incorporating a built-in bar, is positioned adjacent to the media room. Located on the main level, the media room has no windows and is acoustically separated from the rest of the house. It is equipped with a low-throw projector.
Accessibility and multi-generational living
The house was designed to accommodate visitors across different ages and life stages, including the potential long-term needs of the clients’ parents. Access from the garage leads into a corridor containing an elevator, providing step-free movement to the main level and kitchen.
This circulation strategy supports aging in place and multi-generational occupation, integrating accessibility into the overall spatial planning.
Material palette
Hem fir soffits extend from exterior to interior, continuing into the ceilings and forming the primary interior finish throughout. Cabinetry is executed in rift white oak, while countertops and accent surfaces are in black granite. Floors are finished in polished concrete.
In the onsen bathing area, cedar is used for walls and ceilings, selected for its aromatic and visual qualities, with stone tile flooring distinguishing this space from the rest of the interior palette.
Exterior envelope and form
The exposed mountain terrain informed the architectural response. The house is wrapped in custom bent-metal TEKKō™ steel cladding composed of solid and perforated panels.
The steel-zinc composite cladding bends and folds around the upper level and courtyard, with standing seams turning at the corners. One section incorporates perforated standing-seam panels, while others remain opaque. The material offers corrosion resistance suited to alpine conditions.
The project’s title references kirigami, the Japanese art of folding and cutting paper. Unlike origami, which relies solely on folding a continuous surface, kirigami introduces cutting to create apertures and layered compositions. Architecturally, this distinction aligns with systems that combine folded planes with perforation and incision. The folded and punctured metal envelope reflects this logic, using bending and cutting to articulate the building’s exterior surface.
Environmental approach
The building’s form and siting respond to the exposed high-altitude conditions. The design strategy sought to reduce impact on the native landscape while maintaining a direct relationship to the surrounding terrain. Minimal landscape intervention, on-site stormwater management, and native re-seeding were implemented to limit disturbance to the mountain environment.
