ajc architects Restores Historic 1894 School into New Home for The Children’s Center

The Oquirrh School was originally designed by Richard Kletting, designer and architect for the Utah State Capitol before the turn of the 20th Century. The new project celebrated a grand opening on August 29.

Built by Utah State Capitol designer and architect Richard Kletting in 1894, the Oquirrh School is once again a place for kids and families as it has been completely restored and is now the new home of The Children’s Center in Salt Lake City.

The attic of the historic school is once again a place for children, designed as a colorful, safe play loft for kids at The Children’s Center.

The Children’s Center project includes many sustainable design aspects, including new windows.

Designed by ajc architects of Salt Lake, the four-story, 46,000-sq-ft building incorporates many sustainable features such as restoring open spaces, use of low-VOC paints, and attention to daylight with over 225 restored windows. The building is registered with the U.S. Green Building Council and is pursuing LEED Silver certification.

Established in 1962, The Children’s Center provides comprehensive mental health care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families. Originally located at 1855 Medical Drive in the Medical Research Park, it will now be housed at the restored Oquirrh School at 350 South 400 East.

“While we are the largest agency of our kind in the nation, too many families in our community still go without mental health care. This building is a great leap forward toward our goal of ensuring that all children get the help they need,” says Douglas F. Goldsmith, Ph.D., executive director and chief psychologist for The Children’s Center.

Utah-based ajc architects was selected by The Children’s Center from five other architecture firms to restore Kletting’s designed Oquirrh School. To ajc architects’ surprise, the Oquirrh School was not on the National Register despite it being one of the first public schools built in the city.

“Although Kletting designed 10 other Salt Lake City schools from 1892 until 1912 the Oquirrh School is the only one that was not demolished,” says Jill Jones, president of ajc architects. “Our first step for restoration included submitting paperwork for the school to be placed on the National Register.

The Children’s Center hosted a grand opening to celebrate the building’s new location on August 29, which was presided over by Salt Lake City mayor Ralph Becker and other local officials.

GSBS to Design SLCC Center for New Media

Salt Lake City-based GSBS Architects has been selected to design Salt Lake Community College’s Center for New Media, located at the college’s South City campus on State Street. The $25 million project will consist of approximately 105,500-sq-ft of newly constructed space and 17,250-sq-ft of renovated space. Ground is slated to be broken in October, with the project completed by summer 2011.

According to David Brems, director of design for GSBS, the Center responds to industry needs and will prepare students in the fields of Digital Design, Communication Technology, Broadcasting, Entertainment Arts, Film, Web Design, Animation and Music Innovation.

“The Center for New Media will be open, collaborative, intelligent space with intersecting hubs of activity where areas of study overlap and flow together, visually, spatially and functionally,” Brems says. He adds that the space aims to be dynamic and active; at once engaging students and involving the public in learning about and participating in digital arts and media. The Center will inspire innovation and creation in film, digital art, television, and gaming.

The project also includes the relocation of the Salt Lake School District’s Career Technical Education program on the same campus. The new CTE building will be located at the south end of the campus and will share some of the common spaces with SLCC. Currently, the CTE provides course work in barbering, nail technology, companion animal service, forensic science, medical assistance, nursing, computer animation and digital photography.

1300 East Road Project in the Works

1300 East improvements are being done by Staker Parson Cos. and Project Engineering Consultants.

Roadwork on the 1300 East Improvement project in Sandy from Creek Road to 10500 South began in late May and is moving along smoothly. The project team consists of Staker Parson Companies of Salt Lake City as general contractor and design engineer Project Engineering Consultants of West Jordan, along with URS Corp. providing construction oversight.

The $10.9 million project will improve safety and traffic flow, enhance pedestrian facilities, and add aesthetic features along the corridor. Project elements include new curb and gutter, sidewalk, park strip, landscaped raised medians, new roadway paving, street lighting, and decorative walls along the back facing residential properties. Also included in this project are major improvements to the intersection of 1300 East and Sego Lily Drive.

Crews have begun replacing sidewalks, pedestrian ramps, and residential walls on the north end of the corridor near Creek Road. Additionally, crews are replacing the signals at High Point Parkway (8020 South) and 8600 South. The project is set for completion in fall 2010.

BEERC Project Underway in Vernal

Gramoll Construction of North Salt Lake City is the builder for the Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center, the flagship building for the newly designated Uintah Basin Campus of Utah State University in Vernal, Utah. Also involved on the project is architect CRSA of Salt Lake City. The project, which is aiming for LEED Silver rating from USGBC, is a 70,000-sq-ft, two-story building that will house the BEERC as well as multi-disciplinary educational and research lab facilities. The center will support local small businesses by offering centralized facilities and services in order to support the synergy required for small businesses to survive and flourish. Teaching laboratories will support under-graduate and graduate level classes for chemistry, geology, biology and natural resources disciplines with separate research labs supporting faculty and corporate research in the area of existing and renewable energy systems.

Rendering of BEERC project at Utah State University’s Vernal Campus in Vernal, Utah.

The building is organized around a central east-west spine which features an open central staircase and clerestory. This spine will link all functions of the building, including the center, dean’s suite, registration area, teaching and research labs, also many study and interaction areas for faculty, staff and students. Exterior materials include stone, brick, high-performance metal panels and glazing systems in a color pallet which is sympathetic to the unique surrounding mountains of Vernal and the Uintah Basin. Extensive use of clerestories, transoms and skylights maximize the use of natural daylight.

The $19 million project is slated for completion in August 2010.

Hogan Building Davis Cultural Arts Center

Hogan & Associates Inc. of Centerville, Utah is in the midst of constructing the Davis Cultural Arts Center project in Centerville. Designed by ASWN+ of Salt Lake City and FFKR Architects of Salt Lake City, the new arts center will be the new home of Rodgers Memorial Theatre.

The new 57,873-sq-ft building is three levels and includes a 500-seat theater with a 150-seat black box theater. The project includes a balcony, rehearsal spaces, a multi-purpose room, storage areas, dressing rooms, offices, concessions, restrooms and a full fly loft. The exterior will include standard and split-faced CMU in three colors and glass window walls on the main lobby entrance. The interior includes honed and scored CMU with painted concrete and gypsum board.

“We were able to meet a tight budget, due in part to our economy and the building climate,” says Jim Lohse of FFKR Architects. The $14 million project is scheduled for completion in September 2010.

Blackmore Marketplace Wrapping Up

Pope Construction Inc of Mills, Wyoming was awarded the contract to build the Retail & Movie Theater at Blackmore Marketplace in Casper, Wyoming. Designed by Amundsen Associates of Casper, the $5.3 million project, owned by Movie Palace Inc of Casper, began construction in March 2009. The 25,000-sq-ft steel framed project consists of ICF and EIFS exterior walls.

The project consists of 10 theaters totaling 1,165 seats with a foam stadium seating riser system. The theater has a very modern design with large concessions. The interior is made up internal exposed structural steel elements, stained concrete, along with vinyl and carpet wall coverings. The entryway is made up of a series of blades on the outside and inside. This project is slated for completion in October 2009.