'A trailhead to the region and a trailhead to science' is how New York-based Ennead Architects characterises the firm's new Natural History Museum of Utah, on the rugged edge of Salt Lake City.
It's a spot-on formulation: the $103 million, 163,000 sq ft Rio Tinto Center, as the building is called, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains' Wasatch Range, restates the stark beauty of the region's topography - 'which is like no other in the world,' says architect Todd Schliemann, who toured the state extensively before picking up his pen. With an aesthetic language of rugged elegance, the museum provides research and exhibition space, as well as – crucially – locating visitors within the natural world, and facilitating observation of it.
The structure, perched above what had been the shoreline of the prehistoric Lake Bonneville, steps down the site, its ledges riding the slope discreetly while also exerting a commanding tectonic presence. The design's organic properties, which draw upon the elemental natural landscape, are effectively reinforced by Schliemann's material palette: a board-formed concrete base, and some 42,000 sq ft of standing-seam copper paneling, a skin applied in horizontal bands expressive of stratified, mineral-rich mountain rock.
Inside the building, the design centres around a spatial coup de theatre called 'the Canyon', a 60-ft-high atrium space, flooded with sunlight and bridged by circulation walkways. The poured-in-place concrete and polished plaster forms are evocative of the enveloping – and not a little intimidating – grandeur of the natural enclosures found throughout Utah's Great Basin.
In addition to separating the museum's 'empirical' north wing (devoted to research and conservation, administration, and storage of over 1.2 million objects and specimens) and 'interpretive' south side (filled with exhibition space), the Canyon serves, says Schliemann, as a social space. 'You can have a concert, a conference, a party, or get married there. In that regard,' he adds – only partly in jest – 'the building can generate its own "natural history."'
The structure, perched above what had been the shoreline of the prehistoric Lake Bonneville, steps down the site, its ledges riding the slope discreetly while also exerting a commanding tectonic presence
With an aesthetic language of rugged elegance, the museum provides research and exhibition space, as well as - crucially - locating visitors within the natural world, and facilitating observation of it
Inside the building, the design centres around a spatial coup de theatre called ’the Canyon’, a 60-ft-high atrium space, flooded with sunlight and bridged by circulation walkways
The poured-in-place concrete and polished plaster forms are evocative of the enveloping - and not a little intimidating - grandeur of the natural enclosures found throughout Utah’s Great Basin
In addition to separating the museum’s ’empirical’ north wing (devoted to research and conservation, administration, and storage of over 1.2 million objects and specimens) and ’interpretive’ south side (filled with galleries and exhibition spaces), the Canyon serves, says Schliemann, as a social space
The museum building essentially restates the stark beauty of the region's topography - 'which is like no other in the world,' says project architect Todd Schliemann
-
Gordon Ramsay Restaurants are taken to new heights with three openings in one of London’s tallest buildingsGordon Ramsay Restaurants open at 22 Bishopsgate, from Asian-inspired cuisine and martini menus at Lucky Cat and Lucky Cat Bar; to an intimate chef's table, and an all-skill level cooking academy
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025: the make-up collections defining contemporary beautyThe beauty winners of the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025, selected by beauty editor Hannah Tindle, include playful and eclectic make-up collections by Hermès, Celine, Dior, Chanel and Prada
-
Don't miss these seven artists at Frieze Los AngelesFrieze LA returns for its sixth edition, running 20-23 February, showcasing over 100 galleries from more than 20 countries, as well as local staples featuring the city’s leading creatives
-
The 10 emerging American Midwest architects you need to knowWe profile 10 emerging American Midwest architects shaking up the world of architecture - in their territory, and beyond
-
A light-filled New York loft renovation magics up extra space in a deceptively sized homeThis New York loft renovation by local practice BOND is now a warm and welcoming apartment that feels more spacious than it actually is
-
Inside Bell Labs, the modernist vision behind Severance's minimalist settingWe explore the history of Bell Labs - now known as Bell Works - the modernist Eero Saarinen-designed facility in New Jersey, which inspired the dystopian minimalist setting of 'Severance'
-
Zaha Hadid Architects’ new project will be Miami’s priciest condoConstruction has commenced at The Delmore, an oceanfront condominium from the firm founded by the late Zaha Hadid, ZHA
-
A West Austin house invites you to commune with natureWestview Residence by Alterstudio, a West Austin house among trees, makes the most of large windows and open-air decks in a verdant setting
-
Apple’s new Miami store employs the principles of biophilic designApple’s first mass-timber store connects shoppers to nature while echoing the Art Deco architecture of Miami
-
The World Monuments Fund has announced its 2025 Watch – here are some of the endangered sites on the listEvery two years, the World Monuments Fund creates a list of 25 monuments of global significance deemed most in need of restoration. From a modernist icon in Angola to the cultural wreckage of Gaza, these are the heritage sites highlighted
-
Reflections from Los Angeles: a local writer's personal account of the LA firesArchitecture writer and local resident Michael Webb reflects on the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires and offers his personal account of the events of the last two weeks in California
