In the latest publication of Utah Construction & Design, Seeing Green explores how Landscape Architects are showing their value to clients by creating beautiful designs that serve a functional purpose while saving both water and money. Arch Nexus designers Robb Harrop and Jennifer Styduhar were interviewed for the piece.

Styduhar shares an example of how traditional grass turf often needs much more water than it gets from the local rainfall and that people are beginning to catch on to new options that are both beautiful and sustainable. Harrop discusses the meaning of “re-wilding” in planning for native plantings.

The article highlights many new sustainable landscape designs around the state of Utah, including some areas needing improvement. The Nexus designed Daybreak Library, currently under construction, combines indoor and outdoor spaces.

The library works with the natural topography of the site. We’re creating something that is more than a place to store books, but an active space in that community, where you can walk right onto the roof without going up stairs to this great view of the valley and a new learning environment. It’s essentially a park right on top of the building. –Robb Harrop

The Merit Award in Facility Design from the United States Air Force was recently given to the Fire Crash and Rescue Station at Hill Air Force Base. The design team for this extensive and complex project included Arch Nexus’ Mark Davis, Stephen Springer, Sean Bennett and Shane Stephenson.

This facility was requested to be architecturally significant to Hill Air Force Base. The design team responded by having the building’s massing and shape evoke a sense of sheltering and embracing, as would be desired during times of emergency.  The facility’s form creates an outreach entrance to help guide passers-by and visitors into the building’s entry.  Massing also opens up to the public, in a sense, by creating a span of glass and a rising roofline on the south area where occupants would be seen exercising in the training room.

Due to the nature of this 24-hour facility, attaining the federally mandated level of LEED Silver certification imposed great challenges on the project. Compounded by the fact that the building required heat recovery systems within the apparatus bays made it particularly challenging to meet the minimum energy performance requirement. Designers developed a highly efficient building envelope, LED lighting, and optimized heating and cooling systems. The building has also been designed to allow for future solar panels.

Closing out 2019 with a high note, Arch Nexus was the recipient of two awards from Utah Construction & Design for the 2019 Most Outstanding Project. The 7th Annual Most Outstanding Projects Awards Event for 2019 honored the very best commercial construction and design projects in the State of Utah that were completed within the 2019 calendar year. Competing with over 100 submissions, Architectural Nexus was pleased to take home awards for:

Public Over $10 M, Carbon County Courts

Private Under $10 M, National Ability Center; Equestrian Center

Architects tend to imagine and create. Art x Arc offers a quarterly venue which highlights art by local architects. They share the fruit of their avocation with the attendees, offering a perspective into the artistic process that informs their vocation. On Friday, December 13, the work of two individuals from Arch Nexus was on display at Art x Arc. Michelle Howard, displayed 5 oil paintings and Torrence Borlik, showed a number of digital art pieces.

Michelle developed a love for water through the countless hours spent on lakes and rivers with her angler son. Her paintings are inspired by the patterns that light and reflections make on liquid surfaces. Torrence has been drawing and creating art since childhood. He lived in China & Shanghai for nearly a decade before moving to Salt Lake City eleven years ago. Arch Nexus is grateful for their artistic contributions to the firm and the community.

Soliant Health has hosted a competition to find the most beautiful hospitals in the USA for ten years. In 2019, the Nexus designed Huntsman Cancer Institute came in as the ninth most beautiful hospital in the nation. See the full top 20 list here.

A moving essay written by a hospital volunteer, nominating the Huntsman Cancer Institute for this recognition reads:

When you walk into the hospital, often to the sound of the grand piano being played in the lobby, the beauty almost takes your breath away. The architecture is enhanced by artworks in the halls, lobbies, and public areas. Hospital rooms provide serene views of the Salt Lake Valley or the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, which are covered in a blanket of sage, grasses, and wildflowers.

– James Pehkonen, Hospital Volunteer

Arch Nexus is grateful for the opportunity to have designed each phase of the world class cancer treatment facility. We are humbled by the generosity and innovation of the Huntsman Foundation and the progress they continue to make toward eradicating cancer.

Perched on a hillside overlooking the Sweetwater Valley, the Castle Rock Medical Center recently celebrated the groundbreaking of their new, state-of-the-art facility in Green River, Wyoming. Big-D Corporation will construct the Arch Nexus design, which replaces the existing, aging building. Senior Principal Architect, Julie Berreth, shared her excitement for the project. “This new facility will bring cutting edge treatment and attract the best providers to the area. Residents will no longer have to travel a long distance to get this kind of care.” Berreth also cited an outstanding team. “We have an amazing client here, Big D is a great partner and our team of designers at Nexus have all been incredible.” The New Castle Rock Medical Office Building is scheduled to open its doors in the fall of 2020.

The concept of eradicating homelessness while simultaneously providing hands-on architectural training at Arch Nexus, has caught the attention of reporters and Nexus Builds is making headlines. Solving Homelessness through community, connection and tiny homes: A story of Seattle and Salt Lake explores the history and goals of the Block Project and describes the process by which Nexus Builds is helping. Also noted, is the fact that Salt Lake City zoning laws recently changed to allow accessory dwelling units, such as a tiny home.

As quoted by KSL The reality is each person is “a couple of missing paychecks or a broken relationship away” from experiencing homelessness, according to Brian Cassil, principal and director of communications at Architectural Nexus. And since “homelessness is a community problem,” he said, it’s a cause worth investing in.

The latest edition of Trim Tab, a publication of the International Living Future Institute, features an article by Kenner Kingston. In the piece, Kenner details a defining moment he experienced at the 2017 ILFI unConference. “I realized I was witnessing something truly unique: the answer to what had moments before seemed to be an unsolvable problem. Within minutes, the question of how Arch Nexus could help formed in my mind.”

Enter, Nexus Builds. Joining forces with The Block Project, employees of all levels at Arch Nexus are volunteering, collaborating, designing and constructing a home. Every employee at Arch nexus will have LBC experience by the end of 2019 and Nexus will be the only organization in the world to have designed, owned, operated, and built an LBC project. What’s more, one more person currently experiencing homelessness will have a house by the end of the year.

Read the full Trim Tab article here.

Green Building & Design Magazine recently featured the cover story: Defined Design Arch Nexus SAC. Calling the LEED Double Platinum project – and California’s first Living Building, one of the most sustainable buildings out there. This article highlights the building history and walks readers through details of how Arch Nexus SAC optimizes sustainability. Read the full story here.

This week is Salt Lake City’s eighth annual Design Week, a five day festival showcasing the diversity of our city’s thriving design scene. To celebrate Design Week, Arch|Nexus SLC is hosting a studio tour on Wednesday, October 3rd, from 4PM to 6PM. Please join us at 2505 E Parleys Way, Salt Lake City and check out our double LEED Platinum office space. We look forward to meeting you!