Stephen B. Smith, FAIA, AICP: building onto the past.

• Author: Becker, John
• Position: People

THE HISTORIC BROOKS ARCADE stood vacant on the corner of State and Broadway for more than 20 years, its ornate sandstone barely evident under nearly a century of grime. When Alpha-Graphics selected the structure for its international headquarters, the prospects for renewal were bright, but the scope of the project was daunting to mast observers. Not, however, to Stephen B. Smith, FAIA, AICP, a partner in the Salt Lake City architecture firm of GSBS.

Although the design challenge was complex--save the facade, add new construction, create a structure with a larger floor plate than the historic footprint, and put nine luxury townhouses on the roof--Smith was optimistic about the outcome.

"With my background in preservation, I struggled with the design challenge of keeping the facade and trying to find a contemporary solution that respected the historic form of the Brooks Arcade," he says, noting [not the viability of the 1893 structure was in question, and the client's requirements resulted in a decision to create a new, larger space behind the sandstone.

Smith's interest in architectural preservation began in the '70s while a student in the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Utah. A professor encouraged him to integrate his love of history into the profession of architecture by joining the board at the Utah Heritage Foundation. Later, as president of the foundation, he created the Preservation Development Strategy, jointly funded by the city, private money and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to identify the important historic resources downtown and their development opportunity.

There was a significant shift in thinking as a result of the Strategy." Smith says. "It is based on the premise that development would and should occur in a vibrant community and it should...