Weber County Main Library, Ogden, Utah | 2022

The Power Of Form II

Late afternoon shadows cut across the Southwest corner of the Weber County Main Library. Designed by John L. Piers and erected in 1968, it fell into significant disrepair until 2019, when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A striking example of the New Formalist derivative of Modernism, the library shares design elements with the IBM/IBM II buildings in Salt Lake City and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.Constructed on a raised plinth, the building is strongly volumetric. The exterior walls are built on a low, poured concrete foundation and are clad in pale bricks laid in a vertical, stacked bond with recessed mortar joints of matching tonal value. The bond creates a regular geometric pattern for the walls and enables the brick to “flow” around the curves of the wall.Finally, the walls are capped with a recessed band of ridged metal, from which extends a massive, swooping soffit finished in smooth stucco. The result is a homogeneous surface that seems to organically sheath the building.When light and time are added to such a beautiful example of "inhabited sculpture," tones transition from a state of contrast to one of the contrapuntal, where a strong, but unsettling balance is achieved.

Printed on Gatorboard with archival-quality ink at 400 DPI that is easy to clean and resists fading, Power of Form II is available exclusively at Gallery 25 on Historic 25th Street in Ogden, Utah. Your signed purchase will come with a QR code identifying your copy as unique in a series of 50. A cleat-style mounting system is preinstalled on each image for immediate hanging and each purchase includes a muslin bag to protect your image in transport. Visit Gallery 25 today to add Nicholas Ioan Lazaroae's artistic vision to your home.

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