The Natural History Museum of Utah is built on a delicate site on the eastern edge of the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. The 170,000-gsf (16,000-gsm) musuem includes gallery space, classrooms, research laboratories and a separate parking structure for 200 cars. With copper façade cladding that covers approximately 42,000 sf (3,900 sm) of the building’s exterior, the structure blends seamlessly into the surrounding desert landscape.

LERA led the structural design of the museum building, as well as supports for dinosaur skeleton exhibits. By utilizing concrete made from recycled fly ash, as well as other locally sourced materials, LERA helped the museum to achieve LEED Gold certification.