Cannon Design’s European-inspired Sparkling Hill Resort breaks ground

Cannon Design, a leading international architectural, engineering and planning firm, is pleased to announce that the firm’s Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Hotel in Vernon, BC, has broken ground.

Specializing in whole-body wellness, Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Hotel is an exceptional European-inspired resort located on a spectacular mountaintop site in Vernon, BC—a region recognized for its majestic mountains, refreshing waters, lush vineyards, world-class golf and skiing.  Chiseled from granite bedrock, the 240,000 sf wellness hotel is built in a fluid style that respects and infuses the natural landscape. Guest rooms challenge conventional expectations, with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing panoramic mountaintop views and unique bathing fixtures that extend the spa experience. Swarovski crystals and lighting systems are integrated into the hotel’s fixtures, finishes, lighting, and overall architecture, including a spectacular 18m-high window wall in the hotel lobby. Efficient water and energy use and sustainable construction, indoor environment, and materials criteria were fundamental goals; the hotel sits on a geo-exchange field projected to provide approximately 110% of required heating and cooling energy.

The crown jewel of this stunning 152-room, full-service hotel—scheduled for completion in 2010--is the 20,000 sf wellness spa, laid out as an internal “street” lined with treatment areas along its east side. Reception spaces reflect the sensory qualities of the treatments occurring within, with sub-corridors stretching deeper into the building toward individual treatment chambers and cubicles and providing glimpses to the natural landscape at their ends. In some rooms, crystalline windows fill “fractures” in the dense outer wall, bathing interiors with natural light; other chambers are tightly controlled environments evoking sensations of being deep in the native rock of the mountain.

Cannon Design is an ideas based practice, ranked among the leading international firms in planning and design for healthcare, science & technology, education, sports & recreation, commercial and government clients.  At present, the firm employs a staff of 800, delivering services in 17 offices throughout North America, as well as abroad in Shanghai, China, and Mumbai, India.