University of Utah | Crocker Science Center

Project Details

Light-Filled Renovation Sheds Light on Science at University of Utah’s New Crocker Science Center

Science majors are often relegated to dark, confined laboratories, but the University of Utah knew light-filled classrooms could help foster the school's legacy of discovery and innovation. The $55 million Crocker Science Center at the University of Utah is a masterful blend of old and new. Rather than tear it down, the university chose to preserve the beautiful 1933 Neoclassical-style building that once housed a library and museum and merge it with a newly constructed second building.

Winco designers began carefully replicating the look of the existing window system. Even though the original windows had ventilating and an operable sash, Winco maintained the sightlines and ensured the "look" of being operable within the now fixed window system.

The new exterior windows feature high-performance glazing panels of Starphire Solarban 72 heat strengthened glass in Winco's Series 3250 Steel Replica window. The new energy-efficient windows maintain the building's original design integrity. Interior classrooms, labs, and study areas in the renovated building look out into a full-height, four-story atrium lobby that connects with the newer building that's home to the Center for Cell and Genome Science and a new technology incubator. Today, natural light makes every level of the new Crocker Science Center a welcoming place for scientific imagination.