Young Living Headquarters

Lehi, Utah

Dramatic architectural water features enhance a desert oasis

When Young Living, a world leader in the production of essential oils, began construction on its 263,000 square-foot global headquarters in the Utah desert, OTL was called in to help create several majestic water features which embody the firm’s brand while also matching the building’s flowing, organic design.

Paying homage to the powerful healing elements of nature that make up the Company’s essential oils, OTL designed and constructed a breathtaking rockface cliff with a waterfall that flows into the building’s main atrium.

Guests and Young Living team members are now greeted with a striking multistory rock-and-water structure embedded into the building’s lobby.

Under the direction of the project’s general contracting and construction management firm, Okland Construction, OTL also constructed two other water features on the project which were designed by Sholz and Associates Architects and the project’s landscape architect, ArcSitio Design, and engineered by a local Utah-based aquatics design firm, Water Design Inc. These fountains comprise a peaceful reflecting pool in the atrium as well as an entertaining fountain in front of the building that is programmed to deliver beautiful water and light shows, with the flexibility to change themes and mood to accommodate the company’s future needs.

IDEA

OTL worked with Sholz and Associates Architects to design and build a signature piece that is truly an intertwined element of this corporate headquarters.

The intricate warm-gray artificial rockwork’s design, inspired by natural stone pinnacles and spires around the world, exemplifies OTL’s concept of “Geo-Believability®,” through which the firm creates rockwork and water features that appear as geologically accurate as possible.

In addition to being realistic, the rockwork cliff is also beautiful. Inspired by artesian springs seeping through fractured rock faces, the water flow begins as a trickle at the cliff’s pinnacle and flows into larger waterfalls that meet at the base to evoke the look of caves that formed into stone over eons of erosion. The cave design is also functional as it prevents water from splashing onto the adjacent floor.

One challenge OTL faced in this project was imposed by the project’s structural engineer; expansion joints were required at each level the three-story structure rose above.  The solution was precise engineering and installation to create zig-zagged expansion joints, which ensured that the joints were not visible to observers, instead resembling natural fissures in the rock.

In front of the cliff sits a tranquil reflecting pool in the shape of the company’s logo, surrounded by colorful landscaping and white rocks. The deep blue and silver tiles at the bottom of the pool connote a sense of calm and restfulness.

Meanwhile, outside the building, a pop jet entertainment fountain embodies the Young Living brand persona of energy and health. The reflection pool’s shape and the fountain’s choreographed jets of water in corporate colors customize the water feature, bringing the brand to life and identifying the feature as uniquely belonging to Young Living.

IMPACT

Young Living’s new corporate headquarters is a key landmark for Lehi, Utah – a city of more than 56,000 residents.

The building’s iconic water features offer welcome relief from the area’s dry climate and drive home the company’s enduring message of comfort, healing, and respite.

Young Living employees and visitors alike are greeted by the rockwork, waterfalls and fountain and are instantly refreshed by the sights, sounds, and sensations of these realistic and stunning branded water features.

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