The AIA Utah Annual Design Awards recognize and celebrate the outstanding work of AIA Utah members and their firms.
MSR Design has received an AIA Utah Merit Award for the new Saratoga Springs City Hall in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The annual design awards program supports AIA Utah’s goal to enhance the practice of architecture and the built environment across Utah and the promotion of architecture in general. The Merit Award recognizes projects that exhibit superior quality.
The new Saratoga Springs City Hall brings together multiple public agencies to create an integrated experience that connects people with each other and to the services they seek. The building houses the city hall, library, shared community spaces, county services, and a county health clinic.
Celebrating Craft and Landscape
Sited on the northwest shore of Utah Lake at the headwaters of the Jordan River, the building offers dramatic views across the lake to Mount Timpanogos. Inspired by gradients of color and transparency from the surrounding snow-covered mountains, reflected colors on the lake, and ascending hot spring mists, the design team employed a simple palette of colors and textures to the exterior and interior of the building.
Connecting Services with Scenery
The design places the public first by allowing everyone access to the best views, connecting people to each other with shared community spaces and an enhanced library experience, connecting people to city and county services with easy building navigation, and celebrating other local amenities through access to bike and walking trails.
Long-Term Investment in Public Funds
To accommodate the city’s growing population, the architect and client developed a flexible strategy to accommodate future expansion while generating immediate value. A portion of the building is currently being leased to the county to provide essential public services to residents, meet the county’s short-term space needs, and create a seamless framework for future municipal growth. The leased space will accommodate expanded city services as the city grows and the county builds a new facility in the area.
