Monday May 8^th the Huntsman Cancer Institute Kathryn F. Kirk Center hosted a celebration for the completion of construction with a ribbon cutting event. Care givers, community leaders, and patients gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion with inspirational messages from University of Utah leadership, the Huntsman family, leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ, and the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation.

The center will add 220,000 square feet to the Huntsman Cancer Institute campus and increase inpatient care capacity by 50%.

“The design for the Kathryn F. Kirk Center extends the mission of the Huntsman Cancer Institute to inspire all those engaged in the fight against cancer. Through compassion, advanced research and care, I hope this center reminds patients, healthcare providers, and families that they are not alone in this journey.” – Lisa Ramidan, Principal Architect.

Mary Beckerle, Huntsman Cancer Institute CEO, says that the expansion means patients will now have access to “advanced medical technology, superior cancer care, clinical trials, and research.”

You may read reporting on the new center from Yahoo News, the Salt Lake Tribune or take a tour with KJAZZ.

Earlier this year, Utahans were on the defensive after comments from some NBA stars referred to Salt Lake City as “boring.” What many, including Charles Barkley didn’t know, is that the heart of downtown was just weeks away from unveiling a massive, years-long undertaking that transforms and connects city nightlife to the arena where the Utah Jazz play their home games.

Now, the upscale additions are officially open. A key pedestrian plaza next to the West Quarter Luxury Apartments, two high-end hotels and several new restaurants are all a part of the swanky upgrades.

“This project provides a midblock path to the Utah Jazz Arena, creating a party-like atmosphere. It took an existing surface parking lot and transformed the space into a grand addition to the city.” Says Doug Thimm, Principal Architect for the West Quarter.

See the striking details architects and designers at Architectural Nexus have been planning since 2016, at the southwest corner of 100 South and 300 West, or check out this photo tour from the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Architecture community has said goodbye a remarkable man who had tremendous impact on our region and countless individual lives.

Lynn Woodbury was an inspirational and talented person who overcame so much in his life to be the vibrant “quintessential Lynn” that I have come to know over a the past 20+ years. He had an infectious smile and I enjoyed hearing him chuckle during a meeting. He provided detailed insight that made the projects that we worked on together much more thoughtful. I will miss Lynn Woodbury and I am a better person for having known him.

                -Doug Thimm, Senior Principal, Architectural Nexus

As a highly respected and experienced professional, Lynn was known for his thoughtful insights. He had a deep appreciation for architecture and brought his business acumen to create countless outstanding projects.

It was a pleasure and honor to have worked with Lynn for almost 30 years. I will always remember fondly his patience and guidance with the design of projects that we worked on together. From the first pencil drawn to the ribbon cutting, he was always very involved and brought his deep appreciation for architecture and business acumen together to craft wonderfully successful projects. His perspective on life and our contribution to the built environment were admirable. He will be missed dearly in person but will stay with us forever.

-Mark Davis, Senior Principal, Architectural Nexus

Lynn will be deeply missed, but his legacy will continue with all whom he inspired.

Composite materials manufacturer, Hexcel Corporation, recently opened its largest center for innovation and product development in North America, the Center of Research & Technology Excellence. The 100,000-square-foot facility was designed by Architectural Nexus and is located in West Valley City, Utah. The purpose of the facility is to promote research and development of advanced composite technology for aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications.

During facility tours last week, customers saw new state-of-the-art equipment in various laboratories and learned about the sustainable aspects of the architectural design, including the use of safe building materials, native and waterwise landscape, onsite stormwater management and maximized daylighting to reduce energy demands.

Project Architect, Sean Bennet says the design is a weave of naturally inspired contrast with warmth, reflection and translucency. “I especially like that when you are inside of the building, the large windows frame the surrounding scenery like beautiful portraits.”

On Friday, March 10^th, a special tour of Arch Nexus SAC was provided to representatives from the Towns Association for Environmental Quality – Agan Beit Natufa (TAEQ), a regional collaborative of six neighboring Arab municipalities in the Galilee region of Northern Israel.

The group’s focus is environmental protection, sustainable economic development and climate action. Their visit to Arch Nexus SAC allowed for in-depth discussion on how to create and maintain regenerative buildings that lead to climate action.

Special thanks to the tour guides, interpreters and to Global Ties Sacramento, who’s partnership with the US Department of State under the International Visitor Leadership Program created this unique opportunity.

The newly completed Roy Innovation Center at Hill Air Force Base has been recognized with an Award of Excellence from the Tilt Up Organization. An article from the latest issue of Tilt Up Today describes details from this Architectural Nexus design.

This design is a unique collaboration between Hill Air Force Base, architects, engineers, and construction teams. With each building on the campus, the goal was to reflect the principles and values of the tenant occupying them. Being located on the Air Force base, the buildings incorporate classic aspects of the aviation industry.

The buildings range from approximately 150,000 to 300,000 square feet on a campus of 65 acres. Tilt-up concrete panels allowed an expedited schedule while keeping the secure campus cost efficient. The buildings also incorporate buckling restrained braced frames, structural steel, and curtain wall elements. The combination of tilt-up concrete and buckling restrained braced frames allowed to capture the efficiencies of tilt-up concrete while also permitting flexibility in the architecture where desired.

Rather than attempting to disguise with paint what could easily become an unforgiving building, a natural concrete finish was used. The panelized nature of tilt-up construction enabled variation to be achieved by adding unconventional locations of control joints and board-framed sections. These visual aspects help tell a story of aircraft craftmanship. A gradient was achieved by tinting concrete to abstract the effect of the sun washing across an aerodynamic object’s curved surfaces.

Some of these exterior finishes and fine touches include IMAR panels, ordered from Spain, that mirror the rivets of WWII fighter jets. In a similar vein, the exposed trusses evident at the north entry portal nod to the feelings of awe that one has when entering a monumental aircraft hangar.

Attention residents of Salt Lake City and anyone interested in planning and design! On March 9, 2023 you are invited to attend a panel discussion and tour of The West Quarter, a new mixed-use development in the heart of Salt Lake City, designed by Architectural Nexus.

The West Quarter aims to connect downtown Salt Lake City with amenities such as a hotel tower, luxury apartments, as well as high-end restaurants, bars, and retailers.

Panelists from the development team, architects, and hospitality group will discuss the unique features of this project and the future plans for The West Quarter development. We will also hear from Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who will share details about the city’s efforts to create an entertainment district, and the conditions that attract and retain sports, entertainment, and cultural assets for the betterment of the community.

Register here to join us at 8:30 AM on Thursday, March 9th at the newly completed Le Meridién Hotel for breakfast and a panel discussion. Following the discussion is a guided tour of this exciting new project.

South Salt Lake City revitalization is taking a step forward with the groundbreaking of One Burton, at Main Street and Burton Avenue. The eight-story complex will have 180 apartments including a gallery, spa, fitness facilities and rooftop courtyards. The project will also include 7,000 square feet of retail space for restaurants or neighborhood shops.

South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood shared how much she likes the design with the Salt Lake Tribune; See what’s finally coming to South Salt Lake: its first ‘downtown’ building

Architectural Nexus’ Doug Thimm is the Principal Architect for One Burton.

One Burton will boast midcentury modern architecture that fits with the neighborhood. The idea was to bring something in that could be a piece of architecture that became part of the greater whole. -Doug Thimm

Thimm, also the Master Architect of the nearly completed West Quarter Development, is confident that One Burton will help execute the city’s vision for its downtown. South Salt Lake’s downtown expects to offer grocery stores, public spaces and access to public transportation. Architectural Nexus is working alongside Jacobsen Construction Co. Estimated completion of the project is 2024.

Last week, Architectural Nexus celebrated the career of retiring Associate, Jeff Kennedy. Jeff’s 42-year profession focused on public school design throughout California and included projects like Valley View Elementary School and Union Mine High School. Jeff has always been ready and willing to share his wealth of knowledge in K-12 architecture to any who asked. His mentorship has been invaluable to Arch Nexus.

If you want to strike up conversation with Jeff, just bring up baseball and his beloved San Francisco Giants. Being able to spend more time in his maple tree nursery and his vineyard will truly make his retirement enjoyable.

In honor of Energy Efficiency Day 2022, Architectural Nexus is pleased to announce the findings of the first year of occupancy in our Living Building Pursuant Salt Lake City Office. The results? SLC is at a net positive energy production rate of 109%. This building is generating more energy than it consumes!

The dashed line on the above graph represents predicted energy use based on analysis done during design. The Peaks in the shaded graph indicate periods of higher actual energy usage, and the valleys represent lower energy use. While they do not coincide exactly, you can see that the predicted and actual use follow a similar pattern. Energy efficiency was a key strategy to achieving our energy positive goal. One of the measures taken to conserve energy was to encourage the building occupants to become active stewards of our office environment. Take June’s energy consumption in the graph below. Instead of running the air conditioning all day, staff open windows and doors to let a breeze cool down the office. This, along with the use of Solatubes instead of electric lights, greatly reduced the energy used throughout the office.

Even if you are unable to utilize solar panels, other efforts can still create measurable energy efficiency.  During the summer, close blinds and shades to keep the sun out and reduce the need for air conditioning. During the winter, do the opposite. Let the sun in to warm your home, reducing the need for a heater. These small every day actions amount to larger impacts.

As you can see in the above graph, the energy predicted to be generated as represented by the dashed line, and the actual energy produced, as indicated in the shaded area, were nearly identical. This on-site produced energy via photovoltaic panels equated to 109% of the energy used meaning that Arch Nexus SLC is net energy positive. After our first year of closely tracking the energy production and consumption of the SLC office, one can see clear conclusions. Sustainable design and occupant actions work together create optimal energy efficiency.