LOVE Sculpture at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

A recent second phase expansion of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts was designed by Machado Silvetti in association with Muir Architects. The museum's new temporary exhibit gallery wing is beautifully shifted on axis to acknowledge the street corner and the directional shift of the adjoining street. The concept envisioned a sculpture and associated plaza at the corner to provide a pedestrian landing zone at the entry to campus. Fortuitously, the university was gifted the original Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture, which was formerly located on 57th Street in New York. The plaza design is purposefully understated, featuring a simple, graded approach and a retaining wall that highlights the artwork positioned in anticipation of the building expansion.

Project Architects: Ana Benitez, Thomas Morahan & J. Lems