Art & Architecture Complex

University of Utah

  • Catalog No.
    0109
  • Client
    University of Utah
  • Area
    167,874 SF
  • Completion
    1968

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.