USU Eastern Classroom Building

Utah State University Eastern’s Golden Eagles now have a new space where they can learn, connect, and share while enhancing an evolving image for campus. The Central Instructional Building (CIB) is a two-story, free-standing 58,000 square foot building that prominently spans the 400 North block of the Price campus. It features a new exterior thin-brick system, a rusted panel wall, glass handrail, polished concrete and board-formed concrete walls. Placed at the heart of the 75-year-old campus, the facility is now home to a black box theater, choral room, band practice rooms, offices and classroom space for criminal justice, communication, art, theater, and music departments. The CIB is set between the Geary Theatre and the G.J. Reeves Building, giving the campus an exciting new identity not common for its rural location. The project scope also included seismic stabilization, expanding the Geary Theatre, and creating a new scene shop.

Because the building was constructed for multiple uses and departments, the building brings students from different programs and backgrounds together at one central location, inspiring a sense of camaraderie. USU Eastern also wanted to make sure the facility not only welcomed students through its doors but could be seen as an asset available to and welcoming for its community. The floor plan provides fluid circulation paths that are intended to invite curious meandering and foster interaction. Specific elements of the building’s design, including an expansive wall of windows, hot-rolled steel, and board-formed concrete, pay homage to Price’s mining heritage. The limestone veneer was inspired by the local geologic strata. The building’s design provides visual respect to the roots of the Price community.