Set against the expansive backdrop of Utah's Wasatch Front, Mountain View Village is a vibrant mixed-use development shaped by a landscape-driven vision in which outdoor space establishes identity, structure, and social energy. Leading multidisciplinary design firm AO Architects provided master planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and specification services for a landscape that does more than support the program; it defines how people arrive, move, gather, and remain, creating a destination that feels active, welcoming, and deeply connected to its community.

Welcome To The Neighborhood
The arrival sequence transitions visitors from the scale of the automobile into a pedestrian-centered environment through carefully composed spatial cues. Parking areas are softened with structured planting zones that introduce shade and visual relief, creating an immediate sense of comfort. As movement continues inward, pathways unfold through shifts in paving, planting, and enclosure, generating a rhythm that naturally guides visitors toward areas of activity. This progression builds anticipation while providing clarity and orientation within the larger site.

Hardscape materials create continuity across pedestrian zones, using variations in texture and pattern to organize circulation and gathering without relying on physical barriers. This approach maintains flexibility for changing uses while preserving a cohesive visual identity. The surrounding streetscape extends this clarity outward, establishing a connected public realm with generous sidewalks, consistent tree placement, and integrated furnishings that encourage exploration between destinations.

 

The Everyday & The Extraordinary
Central open spaces serve as flexible social environments that accommodate both everyday use and programmed events. Their layout balances broad, multiuse areas with smaller, more intimate pockets shaped by planting, seating, and material transitions. These varied zones support gathering at multiple scales and allow visitors to pause, socialize, or observe the environment in a way that feels organic and comfortable. Select features - including integrated fire elements - establish distinct nodes that extend activity into cooler seasons and evening hours. These warm, inviting focal points encourage informal gathering and distribute energy across the site. Their presence adds sensory richness and supports year-round use without relying on a single landmark to define the experience.

Seasonally Minded Planting
Planting design frames and grounds the development, providing environmental performance, human scale, and visual interest that evolves throughout the year. A layered mix of canopy trees, ornamental species, and groundcovers is selected not only for shade and softness, but also for how each contributes to a clear seasonal rhythm-spring flowering, summer canopy, autumn color, and winter structure. This multi-seasonal approach ensures that the landscape remains engaging and attractive whether lush, transitional, or dormant. Species selection emphasizes durability and water efficiency appropriate for Utah's climate, maintaining vibrancy while supporting long-term resilience. Strategic placement of shade trees along seating and circulation routes enhances comfort during warmer months, while evergreen structure, branching character, and winter-interest plantings provide texture and definition in cooler seasons, extending the landscape's appeal year-round.

Integrating Environments
Furnishings and amenities are integrated seamlessly into the landscape, supporting a diverse range of activities while maintaining visual unity. Seating options accommodate both individuals and groups, shade structures enhance comfort during warm periods, and lighting transforms the environment after dark while preserving coherence. Wayfinding elements are incorporated subtly to guide visitors through the development. Outdoor space strengthens the relationship between interior and exterior uses, allowing dining and retail to spill outward and activate building edges. This blend of programs enhances the social fabric of the development and encourages longer visits, reinforcing the site's role as a community asset. Performance considerations - including water-conscious planting strategies, durable materials, and thoughtful detailing - ensure that the landscape remains resilient and efficient over time. Every element is designed to withstand heavy use while maintaining its functional and aesthetic quality.

Celebrating Community Through Public Art
Positioned prominently within John Ward Plaza between Buildings B and C, Majestic - a monumental bronze eagle sculpture by Brian Keith - serves as the centerpiece of the project's public art program. Standing 10 feet tall with an impressive 13-foot wingspan, the sculpture commands attention while embodying strength, resilience, and patriotism. Weighing nearly 2,000 pounds in total and taking more than two years from concept through installation, the work establishes a strong civic presence within the pedestrian environment and acts as a visual anchor for the surrounding plaza and gathering spaces.

Building upon this narrative, the project's Phase II introduces a trio of "Gratitude Sculptures" thoughtfully integrated into the landscape. Titled Defending the Flag, Mending the Flag, and Saluting the Flag, the sculptures honor the individuals who have served and sacrificed in support of the nation's freedoms and ideals. Rather than existing as isolated monuments, the pieces are intentionally embedded within the public realm, encouraging discovery, interaction, and reflection as visitors move through the village. Together, the installations contribute to Mountain View Village's broader vision of creating an engaging, emotionally connected destination rooted in community, memory, and place.

A New Retail Home
Across Mountain View Village, the landscape establishes a clear framework that unifies diverse uses into a cohesive environment. Through coordinated planting, materials, and spatial organization, the outdoor realm shapes an experience that is memorable, adaptable, and enduring, defining the character of the development as a whole.

As seen in LASN magazine, July 2026.