By Ingrid Spencer

	Click for more images Architect/interior design: Pace Pollard Architects Builder: Marsala Construction Landscape Designer: James Bach Associates/with Kenneth Pollard, AIA

When Bruce Reading imagined his dream house, his fantasy included subterranean parking with a hydraulic lift. “I pictured a stream running through the house. In my mind it would be the ultimate party place,” laughs Bruce, a lawyer and father of three grown children, who at the time had been divorced for 11 years and had no intention of actually building anything. “I was living in a rented apartment downtown, and I told myself all I really needed was a bed, a table, and a chair. That was pretty much all I had!”

But when his financial advisor convinced him to invest in real estate to complete a smart portfolio, he obliged him by purchasing a half-acre site on Ensign Peak, a hill where Mormon founder Brigham Young stood in 1847 to survey the valley below and what would become downtown Salt Lake City. For the next 10 years the bachelor all but forgot about his purchase.

Then, in 2002, he began discussing the possibility of building on the property with one of his clients, architect Ken Pollard. “It was a difficult site because of the extreme slope and the city’s building-height constraints of no more than 25 feet,” says Pollard. “And yet, the view is absolutely stunning.” Before consenting to take on the project, the architect recalls, he gently dissuaded the homeowner from extravagant gimmicks. “I showed him that if you want a house to be a resalable investment, you don’t want to personalize it too much. You want a home that has a dialogue with the site, not just with your head,” he says.

Thanks to careful planning, the resulting house fits neatly into the difficult site despite a nightmarish excavation. The crew hit bedrock almost immediately, but the owner would not allow the use of dynamite, so the digging dragged on for three weeks, though framing the house took only two. With an earth-colored exterior constructed mostly of stone, stucco, and wood, the 3,200-square-foot house is a long and linear three-level building set into the slope of the hill on a roughly north-south axis. Because of prevailing westerly winds, Pollard designed the house with solid walls on the western side and floor-to-ceiling windows on the eastern side to maximize views. The main entrance into the house leads you up a path toward the overlook. Before descending three steps from the entry vestibule, you’re struck by the expansive vista stretching before you, the glowing metropolis of Salt Lake City.

Inside, the open-plan kitchen leads to the quasi-formal dining room, living area, and study. A two-car garage is also on this level. Stairs lead down to the master-bedroom suite on the lower floor, which is literally built into the hillside. A secret room under the stairs was created for Bruce’s grandchildren to play in, while the entire family enjoys the living room with gas fireplace. The lower floor also has another bedroom, as well as laundry and mechanical rooms. Overlooking the living area is a loft-like office.

When it came to the interior design, Bruce heeded his architect’s suggestions, abandoning his bachelor pad fantasies for an inviting environment for entertaining family and friends. No gimmicks, just simple materials in muted, natural tones complete the house’s warm atmosphere. Walls, ceiling, and the gabled, aluminum-clad roof are Douglas fir, while floors are bamboo, with Berber carpeting on stairs and the upper level. The lower-level concrete floors are stained to look like oxidized copper, and most walls are white with alder-wood millwork. The kitchen cabinets and window mullions are stained a deep cherry.

Pollard has a reputation for installing fine-crafted built-in furniture in many of his projects, and Bruce’s house is no exception. Built-in shelving serves as railings on the third floor, benches facing views anchor walls to the floor on the main level, and a floor-to-ceiling black melamine and cherry-edged bookshelf with rolling ladder visually tie the upper level to the main floor. “I relied on Ken to make recommendations for lighting and elements like the built-in bookshelf and benches,” says Bruce. “My priority was color. The rest I left to him.”

And left to create the most spectacular house he could, the architect added four skylights, a wrap-around deck, and windows at every opportunity. “The house sparkles at night,” boasts Bruce.

What was once meant as an investment to turn around and sell in a few years has become a home Bruce now has no intention of parting with. “Bruce’s life has changed so much,” notes Pollard, “and this house has become the perfect backdrop to that life.” Changes to the life of the once sworn bachelor include a new marriage to Lisa, a lawyer and gourmet cook. “Now I share my life and my home,” says the homeowner, who adds with a laugh, “I still do think about adding that stream through the house, though. But it’s certainly not a priority.”