Over the course of the past several weeks, employees from Arch Nexus in Salt Lake City proudly came together to take part in the Salt Lake County 2018 Summer Corporate Games. Dozens of companies participated through friendly competition, team building, volunteer service, and donating to worthy causes. At the Opening Ceremonies, Arch Nexus provided a petting zoo for families and friends to enjoy and participated in the annual wellness walk.

In the sporting events, Arch Nexus brought home the bronze in Trap Shooting, Horseshoes and Men’s Bowling. Nexus snagged silver medals in Ultimate Frisbee, Men’s Golf and the Mystery Event. Our lone gold medal came from Men’s Basketball.

The main winning came in the form of giving. Arch Nexus donated 649 pounds of food to the Utah Food Bank. Additionally, a blood drive was held at the Salt Lake City office where 19 pints of blood were donated to the American Red Cross.

Overall in the 2018 Corporate Games, Arch Nexus won their third consecutive second place Corporate Cup. Congratulations to everyone who participated! We are proud to be a part of Salt Lake County and we love participating in these types of events. None of this would have taken place without the special help of amazing coordinators; Steve Tanner, Jenny Patterson Casey Whitmill and the efforts many others. Go Arch Nexus!

The current issue of Trim Tab, the official publication of the International Living Future Institute, features an article by Arch Nexus President, Kenner Kingston. Arch|Nexus SAC: Leading by Example. The article details the journey of how Arch Nexus SAC came to be a Living Building.

The Arch Nexus design firm’s Sacramento office is not only the world’s first Living Building to be an adaptive reuse of an existing building, but also the first to receive LBC 3.0 certification, the first Living Building in California, the first Living Building to be owned and operated by a design firm, and the first LEED v4 Double-Platinum building (BD+C & O+M) on the planet. 

Previous to the construction and Living Building Certification of Arch|Nexus SAC, the team learned valuable lessons through working toward LEED Platinum at the firm’s Salt Lake City office. Kenner shares of a tour, when someone asked about water reuse. Kingston admits that at the time, I had no good answer beyond a lack of understanding as to the status of regulation on the topic. After attending GreenBuild 2011, Kenner delved into the topic. Working with a group of like-minded individuals, the Utah Roadmap was created.

Water reuse and core values are the key elements that set the stage for the idea and achievement of Arch|Nexus SAC. Regarding the process Kenner says Achieving Living Building Certification is a testament to the grit that makes us who we are at Arch Nexus. The road was fraught with challenges and many people rose to the occasion. This story, however, is about how we made the opportunity for those heroics to happen, not the heroes themselves.

Arch Nexus is holding a blood drive at the Salt Lake City office on August 24, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 1:15 PM. Employees and the public are invited to participate. Interested individuals are encouraged to schedule an appointment here and enter code NEXUS to find our drive.

Can’t donate the day of the blood drive? No problem! You can sign up to donate year round at any Red Cross or ARUP donor location.

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. It is essential for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. Whether a patient receives whole blood, red cells, platelets or plasma, this lifesaving care starts with one person making a generous donation.

Get an inside look at the creation of a world-renowned cancer treatment center… in LEGO form. Taking more than 250 hours and 47,000 LEGO bricks to complete, Arch|Nexus Visualization Artist, Josh Allred gives you a deeper understanding of architectural modeling.

Today, the Associated General Contractors of Utah named Architectural Nexus the 2018 Outstanding Architect of the Year. Additionally, the Primary Children’s & Families Research Center at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, designed by Arch Nexus, was awarded Project of the Year.

Kenner Kingston accepted the awards on behalf of the firm and said that he felt “very excited and full of gratitude for all those who contribute to doing great things and thinking about architecture and construction as an outcome of bigger thinking, such as changing the world by curing cancer.”

Jeff Gardner, Arch Nexus Principal Architect and Project Manager for the latest phase of the Huntsman Cancer says, “It’s an honor to be a part of this team that has accomplished something so outstanding, not just the building itself, but the vision of Jon Huntsman Sr. and the his foundation’s mission of eradicating cancer. Part of being a great architectural firm includes working with great owners, contractors and donors. We are grateful to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for allowing us to work towards this vision and Jacobsen Construction for nominating us for this award.”

Three employees of Arch Nexus are being recognized for their artistic talents. Robb Harrop, Charles Bagley and Keyan Hansen all received awards from the American Society of Architectural Illustrators for their illustrative works. Their art will be featured in an annual book of the best architectural illustrations of 2017 and will be included in a touring exhibit for the next year. Pre-orders for the books are available now at the ASAI website.

Facility Manager Magazine’s latest issue highlights sustainable design in the arts. Written by Arch Nexus Principal, Jeff Davis; Breathe Life into Sustainable Design, takes readers on a journey of understanding what the Living Building Challenge is, how it works, and it’s relation to venues of the performing arts.

From the article: You may feel like something as ambitious as a regenerative building that creates its own ecosystem is just beyond your reach… you can start today through existing building energy assessments and occupant engagement, or through choosing to take part in a petal certification such as Net Zero Energy. These are feasible goals and will save dollars from your operating budgets.

Along the east bench of Salt Lake City, stands a world class research and treatment center; The Huntsman Cancer Institute. All four phases of the nearly 900,000 square foot campus were designed by Architectural Nexus. A recent article in Utah Construction and Design Magazine provides a fascinating history and details of the expansive project.

In 1993 Jon Huntsman Sr. and his wife visited major cancer centers across the world with the intent of adopting the best qualities of each. Designers worked in step with research scientists to ensure open and flexible laboratory spaces that are able to quickly adapt to future research initiatives. “If you look at this new phase, it’s all about open space that brings researchers together, it gives them a place to collaborate” said  Brad Busath, a Principal at Arch Nexus who specializes in laboratory design. “It’s an architectural masterpiece that really speaks to our values” said Mary Beckerle, CEO of HCI since 2006.

Huntsman offered high praise for the design and construction teams he’s worked with on each of the four phases, and said the local talent in Utah’s A/E/C industry is second to none. “Utah is a very unusual state… We have some of the finest architects, builders and contractors of anywhere in the world. It’s been a great blessing and a privilege for our family to have these associations.”

This evening, AIA Utah members will gather at Publik Coffee in Downtown Salt Lake City, to celebrate Utah Architects and their best work. Arch|Nexus Director of Design, Robb Harrop, will be presented with the Honor Award, for the design of the Arch|Nexus Sac office. “It’s really about the team… to accomplish something like this, it’s all about the team.” Harrop also expresses his gratitude to the awards committee “for recognizing that highly sustainable projects are good design.”

On Thursday, artists from Arch Nexus won first place in a graffiti art competition hosted by Interior Solutions. The event theme was “in-SPRAY-tion Creation”. Teams were asked to create a canvas depicting where their firms turn for inspiration. Team consisted of Elaine Stowell, Scott Buckner, Eric Bradbury and Jo Bradbury.

Buckner explained that they wanted to use opposing forces in their piece, because different personalities and ideas working together, yield excellent end results. “Like fire and ice” said Eric.