With plans beginning in 2008, University of Wyoming (UW) set out to build an extraordinary welcome center (perhaps unique in the country), which embodied, in every detail, the UW brand. As the first point of contact, planners envisioned a "wow factor" that would awe everyone – from visitors, students, families, supporters, and the community alike. Completed in late 2014, the Gateway Center certainly delivers a stunning and consistent experience, from the fundamental architectural elements to the finest details woven throughout.
The state-of-the art Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center successfully fuses the university’s time-honored brand qualities with a leading-edge technological infrastructure. Designed by Pappas & Pappas Architects and DLR Group, the center combines the traditional with the contemporary and provides a spectacularly visual venue, which incorporates welcome areas, offices, ballrooms, conference rooms, exhibits, and more.
The center gracefully blends historical elements with high-tech tools in a true melding of the traditional and contemporary. Visitors experience the region’s culture through artistic displays, including the 20-foot bronze statue of Steamboat (Wyoming’s iconic bucking horse) and a robust heritage center; at the same time, guests enjoy the dramatic three-story atrium, dynamic displays, free Wi-Fi, and a 30-screen digital wall, as well as many other interactive features.
Before these finer details took shape, the building’s exterior needed to provide the impact UW envisioned – the ‘wow factor’. As the front door of the university, two vital requirements challenged the center’s designers: incorporating the historical sandstone as the primary building element and utilizing the UW brand colors in a visual and lasting way.
From 1886 through to the early 1970s, the university utilized the same sandstone quarried locally near Laramie, which became a signature look. When the quarry closed, a new natural stone supply was difficult to source, given inventory and color limitations. Fortunately, UW discovered that Arriscraft manufactures building stone which mimics natural sandstone in appearance and performance. Since 2003, Arriscraft has supplied a custom color blend as the signature sandstone for UW buildings.
Renaissance® Masonry Units in Garnet, Suede and Café colors (rocked finish).
Stone supplier, BrickStone Inc. and project leader Chet Lockard (of Project Guide Services) collaborated with UW to find not only a sandstone match, but also a palette that was a perfect representation of the UW brand. According to Mr. Lockard, “Only Arriscraft could dial in the color we needed. We wanted to create more excitement for the Gateway Center and they have a great range of standard colors, which also saved money on the project. The best thing about Arriscraft is that it’s no different than quarried stone, but it’s more [color] consistent.”
Careful to continue a very similar masonry pattern as existing buildings, Toby Marlatt, VP of Marketing and Communications at UW, helped create a 4” module pattern using Renaissance® Masonry Units in Garnet, Suede and Café colors in a rocked finish. The warm tan, red and brown tones combine to both brand the building and deliver the strong statement that the university was after.
The Renaissance® stone was continued throughout the interior of the Gateway Center, to maintain the rustic feel and provide the fundamental color palette for the interior design. In the interior atrium, ARRIS.stack thin stone covers the stunning 3-storey fireplace – a highly durable and impactful choice for this key visual feature.
Architect: Pappas & Pappas Architects and DLR Group
Interior Designers: R M Ruwart Design, Pear Workplace Solutions
General Contractor: Haselden Construction
Project Manager/Client Representative: Project Guide Services
Masonry Supplier: BrickStone Inc. (CO)
ABOUT ARRISCRAFT STONE
Arriscraft’s patented Natural Process technology uses only natural materials (plus certain colored pigments) and replicates how stone is created in the earth. This unique process creates masonry units, building stone and thin stone products with the aesthetics and durability of quarried stone, but in a manufactured format for standard installation and unlimited supply.
Renaissance® ARRIS.tile (thin stone) in 8” x 24” units, Suede color (smooth finish).
Renaissance® Masonry Units in Garnet, Suede and Café colors (rocked finish).
Renaissance® Masonry Units in Garnet, Suede and Café colors (rocked finish).
Custom color blend of Renaissance® Masonry Units on existing UW building. This image illustrates the "sandstone" match and custom blend developed for UW which has been the new standard stone since 2003.
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
Full Steam Ahead for Sustainable Power Plant
An innovative restoration turns a historic but inoperable coal-burning steam plant into a modern, energy-efficient marvel at Duke University.
| Oct 6, 2010
From grocery store to culinary school
A former West Philadelphia supermarket is moving up the food chain, transitioning from grocery store to the Center for Culinary Enterprise, a business culinary training school.
| Sep 16, 2010
Green recreation/wellness center targets physical, environmental health
The 151,000-sf recreation and wellness center at California State University’s Sacramento campus, called the WELL (for “wellness, education, leisure, lifestyle”), has a fitness center, café, indoor track, gymnasium, racquetball courts, educational and counseling space, the largest rock climbing wall in the CSU system.
| Sep 13, 2010
Community college police, parking structure targets LEED Platinum
The San Diego Community College District's $1.555 billion construction program continues with groundbreaking for a 6,000-sf police substation and an 828-space, four-story parking structure at San Diego Miramar College.
| Sep 13, 2010
Campus housing fosters community connection
A 600,000-sf complex on the University of Washington's Seattle campus will include four residence halls for 1,650 students and a 100-seat cafe, 8,000-sf grocery store, and conference center with 200-seat auditorium for both student and community use.
| Sep 13, 2010
China's largest single-phase hospital planned for Shanghai
RTKL's Los Angles office is designing the Shanghai Changzheng New Pudong Hospital, which will be the largest new hospital built in China in a single phase.
| Sep 13, 2010
Richmond living/learning complex targets LEED Silver
The 162,000-sf living/learning complex includes a residence hall with 122 units for 459 students with a study center on the ground level and communal and study spaces on each of the residential levels. The project is targeting LEED Silver.
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Committed to the Core
How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.
| Sep 13, 2010
College Sets Its Sights on a Difficult Site
Looking to expand within Boston's famed Longwood Medical Area, the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences took a chance on an awkward site with a prestigious address and vocal neighbors.