Aurora borealis flashing over the W.P. Thompson (Biology) Building in winter.

Bio/Historical Note: The Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies (ISAS) was formed at the University of Saskatchewan in 1956. ISAS studied the aurora (northern lights), the related 'disturbances' in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere, and the effects of solar activity upon climate.

Looking southwest at the Island of Trees, commemorating Robert Reid Moffat, co-architect of the Memorial Union Building, in front of the Arts building. Health Sciences building at left.

Bio/Historical Note: Robert Reid Moffat (1906-1960), partner in the leading postwar firm of Shore & Moffat, established in Toronto in 1945. Born in Edrans, Manitoba, he obtained a degree in Science from the University of Saskatchewan in 1926, and worked for one year as a junior draftsman for David Webster, a leading architect in that city. He moved to Boston and studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1927 to 1931, then returned to Canada where he worked for Darling & Pearson, for Mathers & Haldenby, and for S.B. Coon & Son, all of Toronto. He served as Assistant Superintendent of Buildings at the Univ. of Toronto from 1932 to 1936, then opened an office under his own name. He embraced the new modernist style being promoted in Europe and the United States, and entered the T. Eaton Co. Architectural Competition for House Designs in 1936, receiving an Honourable Mention for his progressive concept. His striking design was a radical departure from the neo-Georgian conservatism evident in some of the other entries. After serving overseas with Canadian Forces during WWII, he formed a new partnership in 1945 with Leonard Shore and during the next fifteen years they were credited with a number of significant modernist landmarks in Toronto (see list of works under Shore & Moffat). The firm also designed the Memorial Student Union Building on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan. Their firm was awarded a Massey Medal for the York Township Municipal Offices (1952), and another Silver Massey Medal for the Imperial Oil Research Centre in Sarnia, Ont. (1961). Moffat died suddenly on 17 December 1960 at Port Credit, Ont.

Elevated view of buildings laid out on landscaped lawns with trees. Directional sign at lower left corner.

Bio/Historical Note: The Law and Commerce Buildings were designed and constructed as part of a single project between 1965 and 1967. The architect was John Holliday-Scott of the Saskatoon firm Holliday-Scott & Associates.

The "Gold Lounge", with tables, chairs and settees in Athabasca Hall.

The "Gold Lounge", with tables, chairs and settees in Athabasca Hall.

Students walking in front of north wing of Murray Memorial (Main) Library; Arts Building in background.

Crane hoisting metal girders to the top of the faculty office tower, the classroom wing on the left. Man standing on the sidewalk watching the action in the foreground. Trees around the buildings.

Elevated view of six floors formed of new Arts Tower; scaffolding, equipment and vehicles in foreground.

Bio/Historical Note: The Arts Building was constructed in four major stages from 1958 to 1967 at a cost of $758,491. The first stage of construction began in September 1958 with the raising of the classroom wing. The classroom wing was constructed by W.C. Wells Construction, and was designed by Shore and Moffat. It was officially opened on 28 September 1959. The second phase of construction was completed in 1960. It involved the building of the first seven floors of the Arts Tower, the Arts Theatre, and a link joining the Tower to the classroom wing. The Arts Tower project was contracted to Bird Construction while design of the building was again carried out by Shore and Moffat. The Arts Tower was officially opened on 16 January 1961.The addition to the Arts Tower was constructed from 1963-1965 by Bird Construction. While the initial tower completed in 1960 had been designed to accommodate another three floors at a later date, by 1963-64 improvements in structural building techniques allowed the architectural firm of Shore and Moffat and Partners to add an eleventh floor to the building designs. The second classroom wing of the Arts Building was completed in 1967. This fourth and final phase of construction was built by W. C. Wells Construction and was again designed by the architectural firm of Shore and Moffat and Partners. The building on opening contained a gross area of finished space amounting to 82,980 square feet. In addition, 3,564 square feet of unfinished space was provided in the basement. Plans to adjoin the Addition to the planned Law-Commerce Complex were also included in the design. The building was considerably larger upon completion than initially planned, and included laboratory space as well as classrooms. On opening, the second classroom wing contained one 350-seat theatre, one 150-seat theatre, six 95 seat classrooms, six 45 seat classrooms and one 20 seat classroom as well as three departmental seminar rooms. In addition to these, four laboratory units were added to the building for Psychology, Geography, Languages and the Computation Centre. The second classroom wing was faced in tyndall limestone while the interior main corridors of the building were lined with painted concrete block. In 1974 a pedestrian connection was built to the Arts Building for $394,342. It was designed by BLM Architects, and was contracted to Poole Construction.

Elevated view of the six floors that are formed and mainly covered. "Bird" sign on scaffolding, equipment and vehicles in foreground.

Bio/Historical Note: The Arts Building was constructed in four major stages from 1958 to 1967 at a cost of $758,491. The first stage of construction began in September 1958 with the raising of the classroom wing. The classroom wing was constructed by W.C. Wells Construction, and was designed by Shore and Moffat. It was officially opened on 28 September 1959. The second phase of construction was completed in 1960. It involved the building of the first seven floors of the Arts Tower, the Arts Theatre, and a link joining the Tower to the classroom wing. The Arts Tower project was contracted to Bird Construction while design of the building was again carried out by Shore and Moffat. The Arts Tower was officially opened on 16 January 1961.The addition to the Arts Tower was constructed from 1963-1965 by Bird Construction. While the initial tower completed in 1960 had been designed to accommodate another three floors at a later date, by 1963-64 improvements in structural building techniques allowed the architectural firm of Shore and Moffat and Partners to add an eleventh floor to the building designs. The second classroom wing of the Arts Building was completed in 1967. This fourth and final phase of construction was built by W. C. Wells Construction and was again designed by the architectural firm of Shore and Moffat and Partners. The building on opening contained a gross area of finished space amounting to 82,980 square feet. In addition, 3,564 square feet of unfinished space was provided in the basement. Plans to adjoin the Addition to the planned Law-Commerce Complex were also included in the design. The building was considerably larger upon completion than initially planned, and included laboratory space as well as classrooms. On opening, the second classroom wing contained one 350-seat theatre, one 150-seat theatre, six 95 seat classrooms, six 45 seat classrooms and one 20 seat classroom as well as three departmental seminar rooms. In addition to these, four laboratory units were added to the building for Psychology, Geography, Languages and the Computation Centre. The second classroom wing was faced in tyndall limestone while the interior main corridors of the building were lined with painted concrete block. In 1974 a pedestrian connection was built to the Arts Building for $394,342. It was designed by BLM Architects, and was contracted to Poole Construction. Portions of the Arts Building, including the theatre, were renovated as part of the first phase of the Place Riel Project. This renovations were designed by D. H. Stock and Partners, and were contracted to Smith Bros. and Wilson. They were completed in 1976 for $178,080.

Showing the office tower at sunset in the summer.

View from across the bowl, landscaping in the foreground in progress.

View from the top of the Murray Memorial Building showing the end of the building plus the entrance, theatre and the classroom wings. Trees in the foreground, city in the background showing Ogilvie Flour mill on the left and the Canadian Pacific railway bridge across the river on the right.

Looking northeast at excavation work and pilings for the new south wing of the Murray Library. Murray Library (North Wing), Arts and Chemistry (Thorvaldson) buildings in background.

Bio/Historical Note: Though the first recorded withdrawal from the University Library occurred in October 1909, nearly five decades passed before the Library had its own building. The early collection was housed either on the second floor of the College Building (later known as the Administration Building) or was scattered among a number of small departmental libraries. Plans for a new library building in the late 1920s were ended by the start of the Great Depression; but a dramatically reduced acquisitions budget was offset by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation in 1933. In 1943 the University hired its first professional Librarian. A combination of provincial grants and University fundraising financed the construction of the Murray Memorial Library. The library was named after the University’s first President, Walter C. Murray. Designed by noted Regina architect Kioshi Izumi working under H.K. Black, Architect, it marked a change in campus architecture away from the more angular and elaborate Collegiate Gothic style to that of the less expensive cube. Building materials included granite at the entrance and Tyndall stone as a wall cladding and window trim. In addition to the library, the building housed the College of Law, an office of the Provincial Archives and a 105-seat lecture theatre equipped with the latest in audiovisual teaching aids. The most dramatic transformation took place between 1970 and 1976 when a six floor south wing was added along with an extensive renovation of the 1956 structure. Designed by BLM, Regina, the south wing was unlike any other building on campus. Clad in Tyndall stone panels made to look like concrete (through a "bush hammered" finish), the grey almost windowless building is industrial and utilitarian in appearance. The University's master plan required buildings in the core of campus to be clad in stone. However, the "bush hammered" finish was used since the Library addition was built during a period that saw the flowering of "Brutalist" Architecture, so called because of the wide use of exposed concrete. The new (south) wing, originally called the Main Library, was officially opened on 17 May 1974, and also became the home of the Department of Art and Art History, the College of Graduate Studies and the University Archives.