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Family-Focused Design

The senior living market continues to evolve, with Legacy Village of St. George raising the bar with resort-like amenities and an emphasis on creating spaces that feel like home. 
By Brad Fullmer
Photos by Ann Parris/Derek VanDenBerghe, FX Creative

Upon entry at the recently completed Legacy Village of St. George, it becomes immediately apparent this isn’t the average senior care/assisted living facility. 
With a spacious lobby, high-end finishes, copious amounts of natural daylighting, and custom-designed furniture and design elements, the four-story, nearly 290,000-SF facility has raised the bar on what the future of this burgeoning market will be like moving forward.
“There has been a shift in assisted living the past few years, to liven it up so it feels like a resort,” said Chad Beus, Project Architect for Holladay-based Beecher Walker Architects, who works out of the firm’s St. George office. 
Ryan Griffiths, Lead Designer and Partner-in-Charge on this project, echoed this. “It’s been gradual—we started seeing a lot of it around 2006 when we started getting into the assisted living market.”
Beus continued, “You want people to visit and hang out here—that was a main focus. There are some nice amenities here that you didn’t see in senior living a few years ago […] that enrich residents’ lives, but also provide space for visitors and families to interact in and have fun.”

Overcoming Initial Challenges
The project broke ground in January 2020. To compensate for some lost time on the 28-month schedule during those early months of Covid, general contractor Rimrock Construction of Draper had large shipping containers mobilized adjacent to the site for storing equipment, furniture, fixtures, appliances, cabinets, and more to keep things rolling. 
“Schedule-wise we were okay, considering the pandemic impact,” said Rick Spjut, Project Superintendent for Rimrock. “We dodged most of the [schedule] issues. We had 25 shipping containers and stored materials, furniture—anything we might be delayed on. That’s what kept us on schedule.”
Griffiths said challenging soil conditions—particularly with blue clay soils found in the area—forced the design team to spend extra time ensuring the geotechnical aspects were effectively met. 
“Blue clay is a nightmare,” he said, adding that it expands six times in size when it gets wet. “You have to maintain 25 feet between the foundation and the blue clay. We cored the site 12 times and created a rough topographical map of the soils and bedrock. That was one of our big design challenges. It was also a sloped site where we had to cut into bedrock and bring in structural fill. It was one of the longer schematic design phases we’ve gone through.”

Eye-Popping Amenities and Design Features 

High-end luxury finishes are a staple throughout the facility, with scores of eye-popping design elements to appease the senses. Functionality is a hallmark of the overall design, as Legacy Village serves clients on three levels: independent living, assisted living, and memory care. 

Cole Smith, Vice President of Real Estate for Salt Lake-based developer Western States Lodging, said this is the 19th Legacy Village project that his firm has built since 1996. According to him, the trend in senior care facilities is moving towards having all three types of clients under one roof. 

“We like that approach a lot more,” said Smith of the trend that started about a decade ago. “We think the residents like it that much more, having a better sense of community and feeling of home, and not need to bounce around as their [care] needs advance. We’ll definitely keep going on that type of building.”

Smith said Western States Lodging initially started in the mid-’90s with one hotel property, but quickly started its first senior living project—Legacy Retirement of South Jordan—while the hotel was under construction. The company quickly realized the importance of designing senior living projects to be similar to hotel properties in terms of having a high-end hospitality feel but admitted that newer projects like Legacy Village of St. George are becoming considerably nicer as they are starting to appeal to a younger-age clientele. 

Having nicer amenities and high-end finishes “was a function of us doing hotels,” said Smith. “We want to build something that has that hospitality feel for our residents, something that is very comfortable and not feel institutionalized. […] Projects are designed to be appealing to the generation that is coming now—those are the trends we watch.”

Amenities geared toward a younger clientele include a swimming pool and hot tub, a pickleball court, a sports bar and cafe, and a billiard table, along with plenty of spaces with nice furniture to just sit down, relax, and visit with friends and family outside living quarters. 

“The pool, the pickle ball court—it reflects a healthier society,” added Smith. 

The facility includes six dining areas—a main dining room for each type of client plus a private dining room, a bar and grill, and a cafe on the top floor—each of which leads to one of four outdoor courtyard areas, another new design twist based on the facility having a robust 256 units. Beecher Walker also designed the award-winning Legacy Village of Sugarhouse project four years ago, and Lyle Beecher, Principal and CEO of the firm, said the Sugarhouse project was “more of an urban context, that’s the biggest difference. This [project] is one of the larger facilities we’ve designed, so instead of making the courtyard larger, we made multiple courtyards, so it’s got that homey, smaller context. We’ve never seen a [senior living] project with four courtyards.”

Another top-shelf amenity is a “great room” on the top (fourth) floor, a large, dynamic room with floor-to-ceiling glass that offers dramatic views of Snow Canyon and the gorgeous red rock landscape associated with southern Utah. 

“We call them ‘great rooms’—a large family gathering space that guests can reserve for an event, watch a Jazz game, or watch a movie. It’s a place for families to gather,” said Griffiths. 

Beecher said he envisioned what that room could be like when he initially saw the dynamic natural environment. 

“I had been to the site and thought of what the view would be, and we needed to not just capture the view but to capture the sky to contrast the view,” said Beecher. “That’s why you get both [elements] pretty strong from that room.

Spjut said that in terms of senior living projects becoming more appealing visually and amenitized, Legacy Village is among the best he’s ever seen. 

“It fits the community very well,” he said. “I live down here, and this is the talk of the town. It’s a great location with beautiful views.”

“We want to engage the community,” Beecher added about amenities like the outdoor sports area, multiple outdoor courtyards, and the great room. “When you have so many activity options, then the community feels engaged.” 

At the end of the day, the designers want residents to feel like this facility is truly their home, and one their families will love visiting.

“It’s fun to marry the fact that this is a large facility, but this is also someone’s home,” said Griffiths. “You want that resort feel, but you want it to be homey. […] We focused on bringing families here."

“Loneliness is the largest cause of death in senior living communities around the world, so we tried to create an environment where people want to come,” continued Griffiths. The goal of the facility to bring families together is one which owners and architects firmly agreed, and one achieved by providing “an atmosphere that feels like home, that is fun, that evokes an excitement for life—we want to get residents out [of their units], active, and involved with their families.”



Key Indoor Amenities: Six dining venues, including a private dining room and a bar and grill; movie theater; salon/spa; multiple gathering spaces with modern, comfortable furniture and aesthetically pleasing design elements; two exercise gyms; sports lounge; game/crafts rooms. 

Key Outdoor Amenities: Four uniquely designed, open-air courtyards on the inside of the facility; pool/hot tub area; pickleball court and other outdoor game areas; waterfall feature; shaded outdoor areas; walking path around the facility; raised planters and water-wise landscaping. 




Legacy Village of St. George

Owner: Legacy Village of St. George

Developer: Western States Lodging; Garn Development

Architect: Beecher Walker 

General Contractor: Rimrock Construction

Interior Design: Metropolitan Studio

Civil Engineer: Bush and Gudgell

Electrical Engineer: Hunt Electric

Mechanical Engineer: VBFA

Structural Engineer: Wright Engineers

Geotech Engineer: Landmark

Landscape Architect: Citi Design

Concrete: K. Burrows Construction

Concrete: Innovative Concrete

Plumbing Subcontractor: L&L Mechanical Contractors

HVAC Subcontractor: L&L Mechanical Contractors

Electrical Subcontractor: Hunt Electric

Masonry: Sunset Stone

Drywall/Acoustics: Kyco Services

Painting: Accent Painting

Tile/Stone: Set In Stone

Carpentry Finish: SureLine Construction

Carpentry Rough: Zitting Framing Construction

Flooring: Western Wholesale Flooring

Roofing: Noorda Architectural Metals

Glass/Curtain Wall: Alder Sales Corporation

Waterproofing: Rocky Mountain Water Proofing

Steel Fabrication: Construction Steel

Steel Erection: Construction Steel

Excavation: Rogers Construction

Landscaping: Landtrends Inc.

Dynamic Electrical

By Taylor Larsen • November 1, 2024
Electrical contracting is competitive as hell. With a plethora of mega projects upcoming, a bidding war for the best electricians and estimators, and even a race to secure the energy to power Utah buildings, the competition at every level seems to grow more intense with each passing year. How can electrical contractors respond to upcoming trends and win work in the Beehive State? It Starts with Labor Ken Hoffman, Preconstruction Manager at Ludvik Electric, said that the competition for labor has been particularly fierce since he and his team began working on the New SLC International Airport some years ago. Competing for great people has always been the case, but the influx of high-level projects over the last decade, he recalled, “pulled everyone up” with drastic increases in wages that helped electricians bring more money home and brought in a cadre of workers from out of state to push jobs past the finish line. There is additional work to be done to bring in the next generation of fieldworkers to help build the state’s future, specifically the financial incentive to enter into a demanding, sometimes dangerous field. Contracting tech company ServiceTitan reports that salaries for entry-level electricians have risen 9.14% since the beginning of 2023, but is it enough? No, and it is hampering project execution. At a recent Urban Land Institute (ULI) Trends Conference, Hunt Electric CEO and President Troy Gregory offered a sobering statistic: currently, for every electrician who enters the trade, three electricians depart. Nathan Goodrich, Division Manager of Helix Electric, said that the industry needs to find solutions fast, as competing for the same people in a wage-based arms race is unsustainable. “We have to promote the trades as people are coming through high school,” he said. Exposure through industry days and other presentations is one way while granting release time for high school student workers was another that Goodrich mentioned as two ways to bring in the next generation of electrical contractors. Gregory agreed, saying that Hunt Electric and other industry groups have become much more involved at the high school level by showcasing and giving interested students career opportunities. He and his team have had success working on pre-apprenticeship that gives the most eager hands-on experience in prefabrication, an area that only grows in importance for contractors. “We’re getting them in a better position to be more productive on a job site on day one,” said Gregory.

Youthful Impact

By Taylor Larsen • November 1, 2024
Editor's note: UC+D's annual look at age 40 & Under A/E/C professionals includes individuals from a wide range of market segments including a general contractor VP, an interior designer, a rising UDOT director, a steel industry entrepreneur, an equipment dealer owner, and an electrical contractor safety/HR executive. Each holds a key position at their respective firm and has proven their skill and capability along their unique career paths.

Scintillating Sustainability

By Bradley Fullmer • November 1, 2024
Architect Brian Backe was succinct when he stated, "when I try to describe the Climate Innovation Center, one of the phrases is 'big things comes in small packages'." His words couldn't be more profound. An ambitious adaptive reuse project that is generating significant buzz in the sustainable building arena locally, Utah Clean Energy's new Climate Innovation Center (CIC) is the transformation of a modest, nearly 70-year-old, 3,000 SF single-level commercial structure into a state-of-the-art, two-story, zero-energy building that will serve as UCE's home for the next half century. "Within a 3,000 square foot footprint it has urban infill, is an adaptive reuse site, Net-Zero, combustion-free, hybrid mass timber structure—we really packed in a lot," said Backe, Principal-in-Charge for Blalock & Partners, who worked closely with Salt Lake-based Okland Construction to ensure optimum sustainability throughout the construction process. The $5.4 million, 5,260 SF project officially opened in June to much pomp and circumstance, and rightfully so. The center showcases the potential of what homes and buildings can be—spaces that are not only comfortable and inviting, but also produce zero pollution. The building will offer a space dedicated to learning, exploration and collaboration centered on climate solutions and improving local air quality, and a place for the community to engage and create solutions to the challenges we face. The project is a testament to CEO/Founder Sarah Wright and her team at Utah Clean Energy, and their commitment to increasing awareness of environmental sustainability. Their new home makes a bold, walk-the-walk statement about the importance of renewable energy in the built world. "There needs to be an education and understanding that renewables (solar, wind, hydro, geo-thermal) are our cheapest resources," said Wright, a Chicago-native whose diverse background includes work in geology, environmental consulting, air quality, and occupational health. She founded UCE, a mission-driven non-profit, in 2001 and is thrilled to see the CIC finally come to fruition after years of planning. The project, she said, embodies UCE's dedication to transforming Utah's built environment to be zero energy and emission-free, while helping the community reimagine the places we live and work. "This is a living laboratory and teaching tool for the public and the business community, demonstrating the tremendous role that buildings have in solving climate change," said Wright. "Everyone that's been here loves it and other owners say they are inspired by it." Kevin Emerson, Director of Building Decarbonization and an 18-year UCE veteran, said the project became a necessity in recent years as UCE's staff swelled to 15 people. "We've had a dream to really 'walk to talk' through our office headquarters and (CIC) is the result of that dream coming to fruition," said Emerson. "It is more than just office space—it's meant to be a showcase and teaching tool for the construction and design industry." "There is nothing more sustainable than reusing our existing buildings and breathing a new 50-year-life into a structure than was slated for demolition," said Backe, adding that construction crews seismically braced the primary existing CMU block wall, in addition to reusing over 65 tons of CMU and 50 tons of concrete.

It Doesn't End Here

By Taylor Larsen • November 1, 2024
Cancer sucks. That message is on t-shirts and stickers, message boards and social media, and is often said to others when news comes out about a diagnosis—a show of solidarity in the fight against cancer. But riding through the challenge doesn’t have to be the only experience, especially in cancer center design and construction. For Nathan Murray and Brian Murphy, the respective design and construction leaders who helped bring the McKay-Dee Cancer Center into a 21st century, their work showed that a cancer diagnosis or treatment isn’t the end, but the beginning of a new journey of support and patient-centered care. The project was a long time coming. What began in 2018 with the winning bid needed a bit of time to settle on the ownership side, but had Scott Roberson and Jimmy Nielson from Intermountain Healthcare championing the project along the way. Throughout the project, the team never lost track of the patient experience, which Murphy said led to many productive meetings on design priorities and project sequencing to achieve the renovation’s full potential.

On the Money

By Milt Harrison • November 1, 2024
As the commercial construction market in Southern Utah—particularly Washington County—continues to heat up, Onset Financial's dazzling new four-story corporate headquarters for its Red Rock Division makes a bullish statement about the company's outlook for the greater St. George area. Indeed, the owner-occupied structure totals 60,000 SF and is designed to harmonize aesthetic appeal with supreme functionality, given that it houses 23 offices, 86 cubicles, myriad state-of-the-art amenities, and a swanky top-floor corporate penthouse for Onset owner Justin Nielsen that is second-to-none. Developed by Salt Lake-based Asilia Investments, CEO Jonathan (Jono) Gardner stated frankly that this project is the nicest, most expensive office project per square foot that his firm has been involved with, and it speaks to Onset's aggressive business practice and optimism in the future of the equipment lending market. "You walk into that building and you know you're in something special," said Gardner. "It's [Onset Founder Justin Nielsen's] way to attract talent. He said, 'This is the way I'm going to build my business,' and he put his money where his mouth is, [wanting] to go above and beyond anything in the market. He leaned into this with an attitude of 'this is my business, this is my operation, I want people to know this is the place to be.’ He has incredible vision and can see things before they happen." Designed by Salt Lake-based Axis Architects and built by Salt Lake-based Okland Construction, the two firms worked harmoniously with each other via a CM/GC delivery method to produce one of the most unique structures imaginable, with a highly-complex layout where two gridlines intersect each other at a specific point in the middle of the building, with the layout based off this one intersection in all directions and floors not situated directly above each other. Gardner charged the design team, led by Pierre Langue, Founder of Axis Architects, to "give us something we've never seen before." In addition to the unique floor layout from floor to floor, they wanted to take advantage of incredible views into Snow Canyon and the environment in general, along with being situated along the Santa Clara River, which offers its own unique aesthetic beauty. Langue pointed out his firm’s perpetual refinement of using "apertures"—a "design element we've been developing and including in our designs for 20 years that is a continuation of an effort instead of one individual design," he said. "It's in reference to a camera—you're inside a box and framing the view. It's a great feature on the inside because you can frame the different views." “That's why the [floor] plates are rotated. It gave us a way to focus the view on something very specific that you want the viewer to see." In addition, said Langue, apertures on the outside are used as an extension of the building and help create shading for the large expanses of glass. Designing the complex floorplate grid was one thing, building it was another. "The layout was difficult because the gridlines were not particular to each other, and they didn't necessarily transfer to the floor above," said Tyler Dehaan, Project Manager for Okland, adding that it's the firm's first project of this kind. He said the "first pier footing we poured was crucial"—it had a column that extended at an angle and only connected to the building at the top floor, and was 15 feet lower in elevation than the first floor. "I was really concerned about that column not being in the right location/elevation and then the steel column not fitting," he added. Dehaan said they wouldn't know for six months if everything would fit—until all the footings, the foundation, three concrete cores (two stair towers, one elevator), and structural steel up to level four were completed. "In the end, it fit perfectly," said Dehaan. "There were no issues." Pouring the three cores was both challenging and labor intensive, and because structural steel tied into the cores, construction on steelwork had to wait until they were built. Okland self-performed the slip-forming process with help from some experienced concrete subcontractors. "When you see what's going on with the structure, you see the genius behind it," said Gardner. "The common cores hold it in place." Another critical and highly unique construction aspect was building a robust “sea wall” along the Santa Clara River capable of withstanding a 150-year flood event. Nielsen had concerns about the building being so close to the river but also wanted a dynamic outdoor terrace with direct access to a bicycle/running path along it. Hydraulic consultants collaborated on a “belt and suspenders” type of decision, said Dehaan, with crews digging down 15 feet below the main floor and installing a retaining wall below the flow line of the river. A wall of riprap and large cobble rocks were installed after the retaining wall was completed and during backfill. A similar build was done along the dry wash on the other side of the site.

Trends to Watch: Mechanical

By Taylor Larsen • November 1, 2024
Out with the old, in with the new? Not quite, according to experts in the mechanical industry. Trends in mechanical engineering and contracting are warming to both new and existing solutions to optimize efficiency as they maximize the mechanical budget. Three mechanical professionals in design and construction detailed the trends they see helping current clients integrate these mechanical solutions with the future in mind. Electrification Buzzing; Heat Recovery Heats Up According to Jared Smith, PE and Mechanical Engineer at VBFA, a constant in the mechanical field is that many owners have continued with gas-powered systems instead of fully embracing electrification. “The high first costs of full electrification of the mechanical systems through heat pumps,” Smith said, “is a bridge too far for owners currently.” “We’re not anywhere near full electrification of every project,” he said, “but clients are toying with the idea, and more clients are getting serious about it.” Operational costs are favorable due to the heat recovery nature of the system, but Utah’s location in a heating-dominant zone (colder winters) means that more air-source heat pumps would be required to meet the building’s heating needs than necessary during the summer months. Widespread electrification may be a years away, but it is is trending up, making the relationship between mechanical and electrical teams more important than ever and setting the stage for future project team victories in coordination and collaboration. It will become the standard for younger engineers as the industry heads toward full electrification of building systems, Smith said. It’s just one of the upcoming trends he is most excited about in the world of mechanical systems. Another is the efficiency gained through heat recovery chillers. Like a heat pump, heat recovery chillers pull heat out from a cooling source. During the cooling operation, the chiller produces cold water while dissipating heat through the condenser. But with a need for both chilled water and hot water, the released heat can go toward heating application. Smith said that operations are seeing overall energy usage intensity decrease across the square footage of the building. Wasatch Canyons Behavioral Health and Intermountain Health’s Saratoga Springs Cancer Care Clinic are two examples where Smith and the VBFA team have seen energy usage intensity decrease with the future implementation of a heat recovery chiller. “It shines in the healthcare environment,” Smith said, “with the year-round cooling load, you can dump it back into the heating system.” Electrification Still Needs Work; “Thermal Battery” Shows Promise For Steve Connor, PE and President of Colvin Engineering Associates, the University of Utah is fast becoming a leader in the electrification of new buildings. “By heating buildings with electricity, what was once heresy,” he laughed, “has become gospel.” Connor cautioned that electrification has drawbacks that need to be considered, namely that building electrification could create a second peak use period in the winter, one which could be even higher than current summer peaks. It will be incumbent on the A/E/C industry to continue to make gains on what Connor called “the best investment in energy” via high-value insulation, building envelopes, and windows to minimize the need for heating. The next step is to recover and store energy generated. At the new James LeVoy Sorenson Center for Medical Innovation at the University of Utah, Colvin Engineering Associates, along with trade partners Archer Mechanical, are utilizing a 42,000-gallon water tank that will function like a thermal battery for the building when it opens in spring 2026. Heat pumps will use the tank as a heat reservoir, adding or withdrawing heat as they cool or heat the building. If the heating demand is especially high and the tank gets cold, they will “charge” the tank overnight with an electric boiler, and if the tank gets too hot in the summer, they will reject the excess heat through a cooling tower. Most of the year, they add or remove heat from the building and store the waste heat in the tank, making it function like a thermal battery. Since buildings are always in need of cooling due to the energy use, people, and equipment in use across the building, heat can be taken away and stored in the tank before being pulled out of tank to heat the building back up in the morning.

United They Build

By Taylor Larsen • November 1, 2024
The business didn’t technically start, as Matt Menlove put it, with five guys in their father's truck. But it was the impetus for Matt and brother Marc to start United Contractors and take it to the heights reached over the last 20 years. One thing that came from those times working out of Dean Menlove's truck was this: “We were taught a love to build,” said Matt, who now leads the 56-person business as CEO. Their upbringing put them on the path to start United Contractors, but not before a few other iterations. The brothers’ handyman business, Menlove Maintenance, helped put the two through college. MKM Construction, run by Matt, ran for a few years before he and Marc joined forces to start United Contractors. United Hits Stride with a Company Vision The early business had the same, “out of your truck” mentality, with United’s first job renovating a Marriott hotel lobby near the Salt Lake City airport, and another significant project by the airport—renovating a tilt-up building for pipeline supplier T.D. Williamson. The 60,000 SF renovation included building a new mezzanine and outfitting the building for industrial operations on a small budget. The project was so successful that the client asked if we could stay on call for future building needs. “That was our first repeat client,” said Matt. “That was where we began the vision that ‘Every client would choose us again.’” At a recent company party to celebrate their milestone, Matt joked that the name "United Contractors” made it sound like they were a bigger business than they were, a benefit of the doubt that may have allowed the company a foot in the door initially. But company size and capability have never mattered as it relates to the company vision—that good experiences on the project team would bring in more work. “Our mission has always been to consistently exceed expectations through ‘Building on a Promise,’” Matt said. “As we build relationships and our clients trust us, then we can get to know them and begin to supersede their expectations and win them over again and again.” It’s not just clients that United wants to win over with the team’s attitude, work ethic, and understanding of construction, he continued, “We want to win over design partners, subcontractors, vendors, and even employees [...] It’s what we strive to accomplish every day when we step on the job site. “

Kimley-Horn SLC Office Marks 10 Years

By By Brad Fullmer • October 4, 2024
It's been a decade since Kimley-Horn, one of the nation’s top engineering and design consultancy firms, launched an office in Salt Lake, and by all accounts, the Wasatch Front market has been a boon to the civil engineering firm, with local leaders feeling highly optimistic about its future success and growth in the Beehive State. The Salt Lake office was opened by Zach Johnson in 2014, who previously spent time in three other Kimley-Horn offices including Sacramento, Orange County, and Denver, with three total people comprising the initial staff. The firm's Denver office was providing consulting services for the Utah Department of Transportation and put together a market analysis regarding expanding into its neighbor to the west. "The market analysis we put together showed we should have had an office in Utah 10 years previously [2004], so we decided to plant a flag and open an office," said Johnson, who leads the office along with seasoned Salt Lake office practice leaders Chris Bick, Leslie Morton, and Nicole Williams. Like any new start-up endeavor, it was rough sledding initially, but strong regional support and the sheer tenacity of boots-on-the-ground marketing started paying off, with explosive growth happening along the way. "I would describe the first few years as lean," said Johnson. "We had to be creative, we had to be scrappy to capture work and rely on our partners across the country, folks who had clients in Utah and rely on those relationships. Those first two to three years were about relationship building and knocking on doors that didn't always open. It was a lot of fun."

A Future Paved with Intentionality

By Taylor Larsen • October 3, 2024
Nearly 90 minutes into a conversation with Dave Edwards and Bruce Fallon, the two remembered a story about the values of WPA Architecture from years before. Fallon was in talks with the principals at the firm to define values for the rest of the company. Longtime ownership, with decades of experience founding and building up their own firm, weren’t against the idea, but the idea of formalizing it all seemed inconsequential. Fallon had been a Principal with the firm for ten years and finally asked longtime Principal Alan Poulson (who retired in December 2023), ‘What motivates you?’ to which [Poulson] answered, ‘Providing for my family.’ The thought has stuck with Fallon and Edwards ever since. “It drove [Poulson] in everything he did,” Fallon said. “He was excellent in everything he did so he could provide for his family.” Now that the two lead WPA as Principals, they have looked to embrace excellence through intentionality—in purpose, relationships, and work ethic—that will lead the firm to new heights.

Art of the Grill

By Taylor Larsen • September 1, 2024
Touring the brand name in grilling with Marbe Agee feels fitting, especially as she discussed the design concepts embodied throughout Traeger Grills’ new headquarters. Agee, a southerner and Principal at Method Studio, has helped to build Utah’s office scene by envisioning awe-inspiring commercial spaces for clients, especially here with the firm’s most recently finished work—modernizing a cluster of old buildings and turning them into a clean, 21st-century workplace. “We worked to make sure to not have brik-a-brak or gobbledy gook,” she said of the design, sprinkling our conversation with southern seasonings I haven’t heard used since my dad said “daggum” when referring to the sweltering Oklahoma heat. Committing to those design standards with plenty of existing “gobbledy gook” would be a challenge from concept to delivery. But Traeger Grills, their design team led by Method Studio, and their construction team led by Layton Construction's Interior Construction Specialists, joined forces to perfectly balance the ingredients on site with modern expertise to create a space to savor. Marinade Touring with David Knorr feels fitting, too. The Layton ICS Project Manager has a deep, gentle voice that combines with his beard and flannel shirt to make Knorr a pitmaster personified. He said he does use his Traeger grill often, but his domain is less barbecue, more building. Knorr, Agee, and their teammates at Layton ICS and Method Studio have shared a meal or two with the Traeger team in their ten-plus-year relationship working across multiple projects. Agee and Knorr mentioned watching Traeger go from working on MityLite tables in a Springville warehouse over a decade ago to building the office for the brand name in outdoor cooking with an award-winning project in the Wilmington Flats building in Sugar House. When the time came to envision a “Traeger 2.0” in a 2019 conversation with the Traeger Grills top brass, the designers and builders were ready to leap into action, with construction beginning in September 2021. Agee and the Method Studio Workplace team designed with certain goals in mind: fostering human connection and a place of belonging with a compelling set of work environments that draw you to the space. But, she said, this design needed to stay true to Traeger Grills and how they work while remaining unencumbered by current workplace trends. “Our current philosophy is to create a workplace that is not homeful, or heaven forbid the overused ‘resimercial’ word, but rather something that is better than what employees have at home,” Agee said. What she and her team are trying to capture in their office design is a culture-specific environment “where employees want to be.”
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