PROJECT Moran Eye Center
LOCATION University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
OWNER University of Utah
ARCHITECT FFKR Architects
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT G.Brown Design
LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR A.C.E. Landscape
GENERAL CONTRACTOR Layton Construction
LIGHTWEIGHT CERAMIC AGGREGATE PRODUCER Utelite Corporation
The University of Utah’s new $53 million, 200,000 square foot John A. Moran Eye Center is one of the top five eye care and vision research centers in the world.
G. Brown Design designated all available open space for landscaping, including the roof of the parking structure. The rooftop plaza included plantings and amenities that invite people to gather for dining, conversation and relaxation.
The rooftop plaza landscape design included the application of lightweight ceramic aggregate planting media. The lightweight planting media was chosen to help address the challenges of landscaping over a structure. The nearly 2000 cubic yards of lightweight media was engineered to meet the needs of the selected plants as well as reduce the weight load on top of the parking structure.