Brandt Andersen recently made headlines when he announced that he would break the record for building Utah's tallest building. Even more astounding is the fact that the young entrepreneur has signed Frank Gehry, arguably the world's most renowned living architect, to design the structure along with an entire healthy living and action sports themed development in Lehi, Utah. The master plan for the community is Brandt Andersen's dream, with wakeboarding lakes, high-end residential properties, a five-star hotel, a concert pavilion and event arena. He has described his vision for the project as "an iconic gateway between Salt Lake and Utah Counties."
Frank Gehry says that his inspiration for the design comes from what he calls a "Utah landscape quality - the big flat spaces that relate to the mountains. There's a quiet quality I like. It will be intriguing to figure out how to emulate that."
The design of the yet-to-be-named Utah project incorporates dramatic surfaces found on some of Gehry's notable designs including the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. However, Gehry also incorporated some elements of what Utah is known for - red rock slot canyons and majestic mountains.