The Tempe Municipal Building is an
inverted pyramid-shaped building which serves as the
city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
of
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...
. It was designed by architects
Rolf Osland,
Michael Goodwin and
Kemper Goodwin, and built during 1969–1971.
Design and construction
The first design Michael Goodwin proposed was a large concrete building, similar to
Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall is the seat of local government in the United States, city government of Boston, Massachusetts. It includes the offices of the List of mayors of Boston, mayor of Boston and the Boston City Council. The current hall was built in ...
. The city council rejected his design. The next was a structure that terraced down the slope of
Tempe Butte
Tempe Butte () is the official name of an andesite butte of volcanic origin, located partially on Arizona State University's Tempe campus in Tempe, Arizona. It is often referred to by locals as A Mountain, after the gold-painted letter 'A' ...
. The council also rejected this design. Goodwin then came up with the idea of an inverted pyramid while in the shower. He saw how light shined across the shower door at 45-degree angles, what followed was a conversation with Rolf Osland who drafted the formal design.
In 1966 the Goodwin firm drew up the plans for the new municipal building. The building's inverted pyramidal shape helps in keeping the building cool in summer and warm in winter. The ground floor comprises only of reception space, while the second floor is and the third floor . The council chambers are in a semi-buried basement level. The building is flanked by free-standing fire stair towers.
Ground was broken in 1969. The contractor selected was M. M. Sundt Construction Company of Phoenix. The building was completed in 1971 and inaugurated on October 2 of that year.
Renovations
In July 2019 the first phase of a decade long renovation began. The first phase includes renovation of the plaza level council chambers which haven't been updated since the late 1980s. The council chamber renovation is expected to be completed in early 2020. The second phase is a renovation to the west garden level. The other phases include renovations to the interior of the building and new heating and air conditioning equipment. The four phase renovation is expected to be completed by the end of the 2020s.
Gallery
File:Lobby level,looking east - Tempe Municipal Building, 31 East Fifth Street, Tempe, Maricopa County, AZ HABS ARIZ,7-TEMP,1-3.tif, Lobby level, looking east
File:Lobby level,looking northeast - Tempe Municipal Building, 31 East Fifth Street, Tempe, Maricopa County, AZ HABS ARIZ,7-TEMP,1-4.tif, Lobby level, looking northeast
File:Lobby level,looking northwest - Tempe Municipal Building, 31 East Fifth Street, Tempe, Maricopa County, AZ HABS ARIZ,7-TEMP,1-5.tif, Lobby level, looking northwest
File:Lower plaza level showing entrance,direction unknown - Tempe Municipal Building, 31 East Fifth Street, Tempe, Maricopa County, AZ HABS ARIZ,7-TEMP,1-1.tif, Plaza level entrance
File:Lower plaza level showing plantings,direction unknown - Tempe Municipal Building, 31 East Fifth Street, Tempe, Maricopa County, AZ HABS ARIZ,7-TEMP,1-2.tif, Plaza level gardens
File:Tempe City Hall - Tempe, AZ.JPG, View of the entire complex
File:Tempe Municipal Building - Tempe, AZ -DSC06004.JPG, Lobby level with mature trees
File:Tempe Municipal Building-1.jpg, View of the building from behind mature trees
File:Tempe Municipal Building-2.jpg, View from lobby level with ramps connecting the building to the fire stair tower.
File:Tempe Municipal Building-3.jpg, Fire stair tower at center
File:Tempe Municipal Building-4.jpg, View from lobby level with fire stair tower at right
File:Tempe Municipal Building-6.jpg, Close up view of the inverted pyramid
File:Tempe Municipal Building-7.jpg, Plaza level gardens and access stairs
File:Tempe Municipal Building-8.jpg, Building plaque
File:231021-2 downtown Tempe panorama.jpg, Location of Tempe Municipal Building (center) within downtown Tempe
See also
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References
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/az/az0200/az0209/data/az0209data.pdf
External links
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* {{HABS , survey=AZ-142 , id=az0209 , title=Tempe Municipal Building, 31 East Fifth Street, Tempe, Maricopa County, AZ , photos=5 , color= , dwgs= , data=14 , cap=1
Buildings and structures in Tempe, Arizona
Government buildings in Arizona
Inverted pyramids
Modernist architecture in Arizona
1970s architecture in the United States
Historic American Buildings Survey in Arizona
Pyramids in the United States
Government buildings completed in 1971
1971 establishments in Arizona