Utah’s unmatched landscape of mountains, plateaus, mesas, canyons and basins offers a remarkable topography unique within the continental United States. Those natural elements serve as the driving force behind the architecture found in the state, where classical elegance, modern minimalism, and stylish innovation converge.
From the timeless charm of classic structures nestled in the historic neighborhoods of Park City to the sleek lines of contemporary masterpieces in downtown Salt Lake City, design firms based in Utah like The Fox Group and AJC Architects weave tradition into modernity. In doing so, they create homes, commercial buildings, and public spaces that reflect a distinct cultural and geographical identity.
Take Tan France, the star of the Netflix series Queer Eye, who set out to build his dream home in Salt Lake City. The British-born fashion designer of Pakistani descent tapped The Fox Group, a local architecture firm known for creating timeless, elegant houses with touches of whimsical flair.
Cara and Tom Fox, the wife-and-husband team who lead the firm, delivered a Tudor-style estate on a mountain ridge that draws inspiration from France’s roots, while also capturing the American Midwest vibes of his husband, Rob.
“The moment I arrived in Utah, 18 years ago, I knew this was going to be my home,” Tan says. “It’s imperially beautiful, with the most diverse landscape. But, mostly, I chose to make this home because of the incredible people, who made me feel welcome from the very start.”
Cara Fox in The Fox Shop, the Group’s store that offers a timeless and curated collection of stylish furniture and refined living.
In addition to designing and building homes, The Fox Group also has a thriving interiors business.
Tan’s 6,500-square-foot house is a delightful mix of Old European architecture with Southeast Asian accents. For instance, the front facade and kitchen features handmade custom windows that resemble those at Liberty London, one of Tan’s favorite places, a heritage-listed London icon famed for its directional design, cultural collaborations and inspiring curation of luxury fashion. In the master bedroom, The Fox Group team also assembled a 1,000-square-foot walk-in closet with Indian and Pakistani design elements, based on schematic drawings France provided.
“We worked with artisans, such as the stenciling artist who did his beautiful closet art by hand onto the cabinetry,” Cara Fox says. “Creatively, it was a challenge making Rob and Tan’s visions come to life in an artisan, high-quality fashion so that things still looked very custom and well done.”
“I chose The Fox Group because I had known their work from Instagram for years,” says France. “And since Rob and I are not professionals, we needed someone with good taste who could execute our dream home the way we envisioned it.”
Formed roughly two decades ago, The Fox Group is known for specializing in classical styles from the northeast U.S. and Europe, a branch of architecture they recall as having been rare in Utah when they launched their business. “I was always warned by subcontractors not to do such a ‘non-Utah’ style,” Fox says. “But when I saw how people took to the designs and how the houses sold so quickly even when we hit a downturn market, I knew we had something going and working.”
While each project is unique, The Fox Group often incorporates a few elements in home designs that serve as the firm’s signature. For instance, Fox will break up black-and-white interiors with a touch of muted blue accents, floors with chessboard patterns, and brass and gold fixtures.
On the more distinctly modern end of the spectrum of Utah architecture, Salt Lake City-based AJC Architects creates buildings that conform to the landscape surrounding the structures. Founded in 1991 by architect Jill Jones, AJC has designed an impressive array of custom homes, hotels, office buildings, museums, and government sites across the state.
“We like to work on projects that are very site-specific [where] the architecture can respond to the surrounding topography,” Jones says, a thread that is ever present in Utah architecture.
The results are buildings with expansive floor-to-ceiling glass walls supported by steel or timber frames. Despite their modern appearance, the structures look as if they grew out of the earth centuries ago, when Utah’s rocky terrain began to resemble its modern self.
When it comes to the geometry of its projects, AJC focuses on creating a straightforward symmetry, Jones says.
AJC’s uncomplicated approach is on display throughout the firm’s work on The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resort Collection’s hotel in Wanship, some 30 minutes from Park City. The goal was to create a resort that seamlessly blends with the Wasatch Mountain Range, Jones recalls.
“Instead of designing one large structure for the guest rooms and amenities, we focused on the site characteristics and broke down the overall scale of the project into smaller elements that connect with each other,” Jones says. “For instance, the resort’s Sky Lodge is a three-story building that opens up to the sky, while the Earth Suites and Creek Houses are individual guest suites that form a strong connection to the land and water on the project site.”
The buildings also draw inspiration from Utah’s mining history—the Sky Lodge’s front steel doors open up to a black, steel-wrapped foyer reminiscent of the entrance to a mineshaft. AJC also installed a 30-foot sculpture made from locally mined copper, crystal, and coal near the lobby’s reception area. The guest rooms at the Earth Suites and Creek Houses feature beds placed in front of large windows to maximize unobstructed views of the mountain range.
And just to drive home an inviting aura of natural exclusivity and escape, Edge Spa, the property’s wellness center, is made to resemble a secret bunker on the side of a mountain.