PROJECT TEAM
Collaborators:
Students: Gonzalo Calquin, Wei Chen, Dani Giannone,
Whitney Hatfield, Sam Hunt, Colby Kalian, Nancy Kole,
Baylee Lambourne, Taylor Reardon, Connor Stephens,
Tanner Stout, Portia Strahan, Max Wood.
Director: Jose Galarza
Coordinator/Instructors: Atsushi Yamamoto, Hiroko
Yamamoto
location: Bluff, Southeastern Utah, United States of
America
PROJECT TYPE: Classroom/Flexible space
Blending with the landscape the trellis attracts visitors towards the inner workings of
the campus.
The plan overall was tasked with being a simple and elegant solution for a flexible
assembly space of no more than 79m2 An open floor plan and white walls provide a
blank slate for multi-use. A storage closet is located in the east wall covered with steel
barn doors which are ideal for pinning up drawings with magnets. These doors are
flanked on either side with dry-erase marker friendly walls. A shelf space built into the
west wall provides storage, as well two large moveable partition walls can be housed
into the built-ins or move around to divide the space with writing surfaces. On the
interior, two window boxes on the north wall provide an area to relax or display art. In
addition it was requested that the building perform the pedagogical function of teaching
about self-sufficient utility systems. As a result, a water-catchment system was designed
into the trellis. Additionally a custom spiral staircase with salvaged glulam treads leads
visitors of all ages up the roof deck to view the PV solar panel array (to be installed in
the autumn of 2016) as well as a perfect sightline to the Twin Rocks, the landmark of the
town.
Approximately 70% of framing is recycled material that came from a deconstructed
house in Park City, Utah. Much time was spent milling the existing dimensions to what
was needed. As well numerous other salvaged elements were upcycled into windows
and furniture. Now that it has been built they look forward to the occasion when not
only their students will benefit from the building, but also the community.
The project used two main materials on the exterior; first it is mainly clad with Cedar
Timber, which was then stained with a Marine Grade Varnish. The Cedar was donated
by Big D Construction located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The other was a natural plaster that
used local dirt and sand, as well as a small amount of pigment to obtain the dark colour.
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They also have eight solar panels that will be installed this autumn that were discounted
by Grid Alternatives. The interior space is painted all white with cedar trim around the
windows and base boards. The floor is concrete that is stained for a shiny finish. As well
as custom made barn doors that used donated steel from Wasatch Steel located in Salt
Lake City, Utah.
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