centers, and I had been involved with modularity at FHP in healthcare. It really applied to correctional work: working on modules of 8–16 beds around a dayroom. The designs had to be very functional and everything visible like in a hospital. I really enjoyed that work and hopefully contributed to a number of younger kids finding their way in life through a better facility that felt comfortable and encouraged them to be better people instead of punishing them. One of our favorite stories of yours is Happy’s Temple. Tell us more about that. During the late 80s and 90s, we got involved with Coca-Cola’s Park City snow sculpture contest. A group of us would get together with our kids and families and go to Park City. We piled a lot of snow by the high school and then sculpted it. Generally, I was in charge of the design and making it feasible — fun and recognizable for the crowds coming through. We also wanted to win the prize money to give away to Books for Kids. We won year after year. One of our best was Happy’s Temple. It was Happy, the dwarf from Snow White, in his temple that was like the Parthenon. We won the $1,000, which went to the kids. Later, we were submitting work to the AIA competition for that year’s projects. It got an honorable mention award from the AIA. That was wonderful. Talk about some projects that you’re particularly proud of. My favorite, early in the 2000s, was the Health Sciences Education Building at the University of Utah. We worked with so many departments at the University Health Sciences Campus and DFCM. It was a real milestone in my career. We were working with a firm from Boston and were in charge of writing all the specifications. The Boston architect said, “What did you choose for the front door handle?” I showed him, and he said, “Well, that’s good. But that’s the first piece of the building the users will touch when they come to the building. So, we really want to make it nice and tactile.” So, we chose something even nicer in stainless steel. What’s the building really going to feel like from the very first moment somebody opens that door? That’s important. Additionally, we commissioned artwork through the Arts Council and selected three artists to provide artwork throughout the building. The team incorporated the art into the building where it really was seamless. It was my first indication that I needed to work with an entire envelope. That added another layer of complexity to an already complex program. I went into the project knowing we must provide the client with a building that was state of the art and had a super tight envelope. That was the first project where we followed through with LEED certification, and it was the university’s first project pursuing a LEED Gold certification. We led the client through the process, making choices based on how much it would cost, but also on what was right for the future, the users, and the environment. The project was CM/GC, so we had the contractor on board very early in the project to rely on to help make many more design decisions, like making the connection between the building and the library work and being weatherproof and functional. We watched them take on their LEED requirements: no food, drink, 10 REFLEXION
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