USU Eastern's New Gateway Structure Awarded Best of Year

Utah’s Oscar’s event for the building industry, hosted by Utah Construction & Design, shined the spotlight on Utah State University Eastern’s new landmark facility Dec. 8 during its annual award ceremony at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

USU Eastern’s Central Instruction Building, designed by Method Studio and built by Jacobsen Construction, both of Salt Lake City, was recognized for its work among 31 other building projects by UC&D as 2015’s Most Outstanding Projects. The CIB’s award fell under the small project category.

Nothing diminutive, however, about this $21 million campus blockbuster dedicated Oct. 30. It looms ever-large for the Price campus with its 58,000-square-feet of housing that today facilitates the college’s music, theater, visual and fine arts, communications and criminal justice programs. Its completion marked the realization of a decades-long dream of faculty, staff and administrators, many of whom have since retired.

The 31 projects awarded in categories from “Projects of the Year” (LDS Provo City Center Temple) to “Concrete/Structures” (USU Science & Technology building), were selected by a panel of nine industry professionals among 85 submissions, according to UC&D’s website.

“USU Eastern congratulates Method Studios Architects and Jacobsen Construction on their recognition from Utah Construction and Design,” said USU Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson. “What an excellent team!  How deserving of the recognition. The college couldn’t be more pleased, first, with the beautiful building itself, and second, with the recognition of our planning and building partners.”  

Located in the heart of campus and the Price community, the flagship structure opened its doors to students in August. Its location at the intersection of campus and community informed the building’s design, envisioning it as a device to support a welcoming union between these two essential elements, said Method Studio’s principal architect Joe Smith.

The common thread of connecting USU Eastern to the community and the community connecting to the university was architect’s Shawn Benjamin’s thought process when he visualized the completed CIB.

Other higher education institutions given awards included the University of Utah’s S. J. Quinney College of Law, Green/Sustainable; the U of U’s Student Life Center, Higher Education Large Project; and the U of U’s Huntsman Basketball Center, Sports/Recreation Large.

The complete list at the UC&D site can be viewed here.

Contacts: Susan A. Polster, susan.polster@usu.edu, John DeVilbiss, 435-797-1358, john.devilbiss@usu.edu