Art & Architecture Complex
University of Utah
- Catalog No.0109
- ClientUniversity of Utah
- Area167,874 SF
- Completion1968
As an educational building still used today to train future architects, the Art and Architecture Complex acts as a skillful teacher and an active participant in the pedagogic process. The design - relatively rare architectural style for the state of Utah - is a locally important example of Brutalism, a style of Modern architecture characterized by structural expressiveness, raw materiality and functional articulation. A highly organized spatial plan is a direct reflection of the design of the building’s concrete framing: a tartan grid of concrete post-and-beam defines zones of circulation, studio workspace and mechanical. A monumental structure composed of concrete, brick and cedar paneling, dramatic textural differences and natural colors of the materials express a local materiality - adapting international modernist principles to the context of the Intermountain West.