Construction recently completed on the $78 million, five-level University Gateway Building at Arizona State University (ASU), a 128,000-square-foot building that wraps around the Mill Avenue Parking Structure in Tempe, Ariz. The parking structure, which was completed in late 2023, and the University’s new building are located east of Mill Avenue between 9th and 10th streets.

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The University Gateway Building contains classroom, administrative, mixed-use and retail space. Owned by ASU, the facility meets educational needs while also introducing retail space on the ground level to maximize land use for multiple stakeholder groups. The classrooms will serve the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, which hosts ASU’s music, music therapy, photography, esports, architecture, and animation programs. 

“The University Gateway Building marks a significant milestone for Arizona State University, linking the west side of the Tempe campus with the vibrant energy of Mill Avenue,” said Tim Smith, ASU Facilities Development and Management vice president. “With its distinctive angular façade, we have a visual showpiece that inspires ideas and innovation.”

With classroom and learning spaces designed to benefit students of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the third floor of the new building was crafted with an extensive sound isolation system to control external and internal sound for instrument practice rooms, group rehearsal spaces, recording studios and a music therapy clinic for the college’s music program. The building’s other three academic floors include an e-sports gaming theater, computer lab spaces, film and photography studios, faculty offices, and flex study areas. The west facade of the University Gateway Building is clad with a unitized skin system, with a deep faceted geometry to create a unique architectural response, strategically designed to optimize window shading to reduce energy consumption. 

“While the new parking was a welcome addition to downtown Tempe when we completed it a year ago, the University Gateway Building welcomes students and visitors alike to the west side of the ASU campus,” said Jonathan Kimble, project manager with McCarthy Building Companies. “We know maximizing vertical space in the area is a priority for ASU and the City of Tempe, and this two-part project represents a good example of how that can be accomplished.”

Guided by ASU’s sustainable objectives, the McCarthy | DFDG design-build team leveraged the synergies between LEED and Parksmart standards promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council. The combined parking structure and University Gateway Building are projected to meet LEED Silver and Parksmart Gold certifications and include the following features:

  • The UGB’s building enclosure is designed as a high-performance thermal, air and vapor envelope. 
  • The exposed facades of the UGB are designed to minimize direct solar gain with various shading strategies.
  • The building is equipped with high-efficiency mechanical systems and controls.
  • Electric vehicle charging stations are located on the first and third parking levels;
  • Parking structure roof designed accommodate photovoltaic array for power generation;
  • Secure indoor bicycle parking with showers and changing rooms to promote alternate modes of transportation;
  • The project site is served by both bus and trolly mass transit modes;
  • Smart sensor monitored outlets and lights throughout the building;
  • Parking structure accommodates underground thermal energy storage for campus cooling.

“As an institution, ASU shares our firm’s commitment to highly sustainable architecture,” said Ryan Schmitt, design project manager with DFDG. “They challenge us to be creative and innovative in our design approach and they support us in realizing the benefit of those strategies. With this project, it was especially rewarding to have our unique shading strategy also result in an eye-catching architectural solution.”

Completion of the project entailed commissioning of chilled water air handlers and pumps, hydronic heat exchangers, dedicated outside air system, ductless split and mini-split systems, exhaust fans, electric water heaters, circulation pumps, lighting controls, daylight dimming controls, and lighting occupancy sensors.

The two-part project represents a design-build partnership between DFDG Architecture and general contractor McCarthy Building Companies Inc. Completed in late 2023, the Mill Avenue Parking Structure added 1,205 parking spaces to the busy area and provides designated valet parking for the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU. The additional parking and street level retail and restaurant spaces serve students as well as visitors to the Nelson Fine Arts Center and Gammage Auditorium. The resulting active streetscape along Mill Avenue provides an exciting connection between the historic Mill Avenue to the north and the fine arts venues at the southwest corner of ASU’s campus.

The project broke ground in February 2023. The project’s key construction trade partners include KT Fabrication, Sun Valley Masonry, Arizona Elevator Solutions, TP Acoustics Inc. and RH Dupper Landscaping.