Arizona State University, Interdisciplinary Science & Technology Building

Honor Award

On an arid desert campus, this sizable science building is like an inviting rock outcropping, exuding both protection and strength. The building's two functions—its laboratories and offices—are organized into separate wings that enclose a courtyard. Raising the office wing on columns created a shaded gathering area adjacent to an airy lobby. The overall impression of the building is its muscular form. "The building has groundedness, and you celebrate the heaviness, you don't try to lighten it up," one juror said. Another noted that the muted palette of the exterior emphasizes the building's weight, at the same time that it makes the mixed materials, shapes and forms "all contribute to the same mass." Its changing form offers up details that humanize the monolith: "The screens give it a beautiful texture caught between those horizontal bones," a juror said. Certified LEED Gold by the USGBC, the science building responds to its harsh climate differently on each façade, given the varying degrees of heat and sun they face. Its courtyard, planted with native vegetation, is like a secluded oasis in the desert. "The thing you get in th desert that is free is shade," a juror said. "They've made use of that shade."

Architect: Perkins+Will
Associate Architect: Dick & Fritsche Design Group
Client: Arizona State University
Consultants: GPR Planners Collaborative Inc. (laboratory planning); KPFF Consulting Engineers (structural); Bard, Rap + Athanas (MEP); Battle McCarthy (sustainability/LEED certification)
General contractor: Gilbane Building Company
Location: Tempe, AZ
Category: Institutional