Etchings of words and designs cover the facade of the Lattie F. Coor Hall. It is not just a classroom building, but also the newest and largest piece of public art on campus.
Dianne Cripe, director of ASU's Office of Public Art, said the hall is "the first time architecture and art were merged into one project."
Chicago artist BJ Krivanek selected letters from Native American and Asian languages to decorate the glass walls of Coor Hall.
During some parts of the day, shadows are cast on an inner wall of the hall including the one word, "Explore," which is cut in steel and suspended from the roof.
The building was funded by ASU's Percent-for-Art program. The program allows for a percentage of the costs of new buildings to fund new art projects.
The Office of Public Art was created in 2001 and is located in the Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts.
The next project on the office's list is Parking Structure 7, which is now being built near Sixth Street.
"It will be a place where students can park and walk to class, but [where they] also will want to hang out as well," Cripe said.
The structure was commissioned with one acre of land in front of it allowed for landscape and public art.
Public artists Stanton Sears and Andrea Myklebust are working together with landscape artists to design the acre, Cripe said.
The parking structure should be mostly complete by August, she added. Limestone pillars are the final step and may be added later.
Cripe said public art impacts University life.
"It gives campus a sense of identity and the art pieces are all examples of various eras," she added. "From the Kachina Fountain built in the 1930s to the recent completion of the Lattie F. Coor Hall, there is diversity in all the art pieces."
Nicole Wentworth, an elementary education junior, said the public art was appealing.
"I think the art is great, it brings life to the University and makes it a little more interesting," Wentworth said. "I use them as landmarks to find my way around campus as well."
Reach the reporter at leia.cumberland@asu.edu.
