Murray Building - Facilities Management Division

053
Murray Building
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register
November ■ 2014
053
Murray Building
Alternate Names
Murray Memorial Library
Architect(s)
K. Izumi, project architect for H.K. Black Architect, Regina
Builders
W.C. Wells Construction
Construction Dates
1954-1956
Recognition
University of Saskatchewan ‘B’ Listed
Figure 1. Tyndall stone and
greystone.
Figure 2. Granite steps and
Tyndall stone pavers.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-264
1. Statement of Significance
The Murray Building, designed by noted Regina architect
Kioshi Izumi working under H.K. Black Architect, was built
between 1954-56. It is architecturally significant as one of
the first Modernist buildings constructed at the University of
Saskatchewan, and the first to use a full structural steel frame.
(The Heating Plant, constructed at the same time, is also in
the Modern style). Architecturally, it is also notable that at
the moment of transition between the historicist impulse of
the Collegiate Gothic and the modernist idiom of the Murray
Building, a decision was made to continue the use of ‘greystone’
and Tyndall stone as the principal exterior materials. The
Murray Building is also significant as the university’s first formal
library building. Prior to its construction, the library collection
was located in the MacKinnon Building or scattered in smaller
libraries throughout the campus.
The Murray Memorial Library, as it was originally named, was
built in honor of the university’s first president, Walter C. Murray.
Murray died in 1945 never having seen his university build a library.
After his death, a memorial fund was started in his honor with the
purpose of constructing a library. The Murray Building represents
the fruits of the memorial fund and a tribute to Walter Murray.
Figure 3. A 1955 sketch by Professor Les
Saunders depicts the Murray Building
shortly after completion. Photo 2069-294, retrieved from http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/
postcards/permalink/34240
A large addition to the Murray Building was constructed to the
south of the original building between 1972-74. The ‘South Wing’
addition is beyond the scope of this report. The Murray Building
is configured with its floors numbered ground floor, first floor,
second floor etc...
2. Character - Defining Elements
2.1 Materials
Although the Murray Building is designed in the Modern style,
a conscious decision was made not to discard historic campus
materials and scale. The exterior materials of the building include
greystone, Tyndall stone and granite (Figures 1 & 2). Greystone and
Tyndall stone, by this time, were firmly established as a unifying
feature of the University of Saskatchewan campus. The Murray
Building honoured this tradition, but re-imagined the meanings
of these materials in the way they are expressed. Whereas earlier,
greystone was used in a structural capacity, to support the weight
of the building, here it is used as a non-structural cladding.
Because the stone wall is no longer structural, the architect is free
to arrange the elements of the wall at will. Formerly, Tyndall stone,
was used for trim and decoration, particularly around individual
windows. Here it is also used in conjunction with windows, but
rather than serving to accentuate individual openings, it is used
in the form of spandrel panels, to unify and define larger blocks
of fenestration. Decoration is omitted, but large areas of window
Murray Building ■ 7-265
and wall are used as elements in a carefully designed composition.
(For further information on building stones used at the U of S,
refer to ‘Appendix: Stone’.)
Figure 4. Pink granite, Tyndall stone soffit
and curtain wall glazing.
Figure 5. Maple wainscoting and door
with steel knob.
Figure 6. Maple framed chalkboard.
Materials are also used in the design of the Murray Building
to articulate and differentiate volumes as elements of a formal
composition. For example, a large volume of smooth cut Tyndall
stone turns the north-east corner, facing ‘The Bowl,’ to mark the
main entrance (Figure 8). Large slabs of polished pink granite
also highlight the entrance, which is accessed by a set of stone
steps (Figures 2 & 4). The pink granite also extends past the
glazed entry doors into the foyer. These intersections of volumes
and extensions of materials are a common device within
Modernism, which sought ways to use the innate characteristics
of materials and shapes to express architectural ideas, rather
than using applied decoration and symbols. The elevations of
the 1955 Murray Building are particularly skillful in their design,
and their principal materials - greystone, Tyndall stone and
granite - are all character-defining materials.
The interior of the building has been substantially modified;
however, some of the original materials remain. The areas with
the greatest material commemorative integrity are on the third
and fourth floor. These areas still retain their original maple
doors, wainscoting and dado rails as shown in Figure 5. There
are also original maple framed chalkboards on these floors
(Figure 6) as well as some study coves, tables and chairs which
will be discussed in later sections. The condition of the maple
materials is excellent where it exists; on the upper floors of the
library portion and in the Saskatchewan Archives space. Maple
is a character-defining element of the Murray Building.
Flooring in the Murray Building originally consisted of
either vinyl composite tile (VCT) or terrazzo. Both still exist
sporadically throughout the building. The staircases have all
retained their terrazzo landings. The existing terrazzo has a high
degree of commemorative integrity and is a character-defining
material (Figure 7).
2.2 Form & Style
Figure 7. Pink granite wall and terrazzo
flooring.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-266
The design of the Murray Building represents a radical change
in the architecture of the University of Saskatchewan. Compare,
for example, the modernist design of the Murray Library with
the historicist approach taken with the design of the Memorial
Union Building; these two buildings, so different in character, are
exact contemporaries. Modernist architecture is characterized
generally by the removal of applied ornament in favour of an
articulation of material qualities, the manipulation of form and
Figure 8. Architect’s sketch of the Murray Building, 1954. Photo A-5962, retrieved from http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/
uofs_buildings/
Figure 9. Elevations of the Murray Building. Retrieved from Facilities Management Division Asset Record System, File
MM-52-T.
Murray Building ■ 7-267
R D
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R O A D
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Figure 10. Alternating, repetitive window
pattern.
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In elevation, the greystone, Tyndall stone and glazing are treated
as discrete elements reinforcing the asymmetry of the form. The
General
entrance volume is marked
by large surfaces of smooth Tyndall
Purpose
S.E.R.F.
stone,
uninterrupted by windows except at the entry level. The
Grounds
Greenhouse
Food Animal
entry
is located
at the corner, rather than in the centre of a wall as
R.J.F. Smith Centre Clinical Sciences
(Bovine) Facility
For Aquatic
Ecology
it generally was in earlier Collegiate Gothic buildings (Figure 9).
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the expressive range of forms, and this impulse led to designs
that were no longer bound by conventions of symmetrical
SED
Canadianof the Murray Building, in the
composition. The Systems
asymmetry
Inc. Space
Agencyits elevations, is characteristic of
arrangement of its forms and
the period. In form, the Murray Building is a composition of
large rectilinear volumes. Figure 8 illustrates the play between
a 4-storey greystone-clad
volume on the north-west corner,
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withAgency
a three-storey
volume
to the south, mediated
Vaccine Centre
P.O.S. Pilot Plant
(InterVac)
Corporation
by the Tyndall stone entrance volume. The projections and
intersections
of these volumes VIDO
are character-defining elements.
Environment Canada
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the expression of function. Decorative elements tend to be
The Atrium
abstract and
geometric rather than figural or representational.
The
expression of material qualities and the formal composition
SRC
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in Section
2.1 above.
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University
Club
Kinesiology
Physical Activity
Complex (PAC)
Figure 12.
The Murray Building is
indicated in green on this contemporary
campus map.
BOTTOMLEY AVE
M B E R L A N D
es
Ball
Field
1
Griffiths
Stadium
Ball Fields
7
8
Residence Project
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Dairy
Barn
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Saskatoon Field House
Parking Lot
Concessio n
Visitors
Clubhouse
University of Saskatchewan HeritageStudent
Register ■ 7-268
Centre - 966-6988
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Ball Field
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2.4 Location
U
S T A D I
Graham
PotashCorp Huskie
Clubhouse
Park
Ball Fields
5
6
Research
Stone
Barn
HWY 5
Stadium
Parkade
A V E N U E
Hospital
Animal
Science
C O L L E G E
M
toon Transit and university
P L
A C
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The Murray Building is located on The Bowl, at its south-west
end. As such, it is integral in shaping this prominent outdoor
space (Figure 12). The 1972-74 addition to the building extended
Patterson
its floor plate south.
Garden
C O L L E G E
D R I V E
C A M P U S
D R I V E
Ball Fields
4
3
A V E N U E
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& St. Chad/ St. Thomas
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WIGGINS AVENUE
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Nobel
Place Hall Qu'Appelle
Plaza
Palliser Hall
Riel
MacKinnon
Garden
Qu'Appelle
Saskatchewan
Administration
Hall Addition Voyageur Hall
M
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B
ADMIN PL
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Observatory
D
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R T
Poultry
Science
Although the style
of the building differs from those built earlier
Rutherford
Animal Science Fields
around TheRink
Bowl, the scale of the
Murray Building
is in keeping
University Farm
with its surroundings. The scale of the building, at three to four
NRC - Plant
Livestock
storeys,
is a character-defining
element.
Biotechnology
S
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(Library)
E
Curling
Rink
Archaeology
Physics
H
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H O U S E
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Health
ciences
ntal
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Murray
I
Saskatoon
Field House
East
Stands
F I E L D
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Geology
R
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C R T
Engineering
John
Mitchell
D
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Arts
Kirk Hall
CE
P U S
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Biology
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Agriculture
Law
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of Business
Toxicology
Centre
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Agriculture and
Figure 11. Steel balustrade.
Agri-Food Canada
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design
of the windows and the exterior steel balustrades that
of
Veterinary
mimic
them
are examples of the abstract decoration typical of
Medicine
Modernist architecture of the period, and are character-defining
features. The windows are functional elements, but through the
Poultry
Farm
alternating repetition of their
frames,
Centrethey take on a decorative
Residences
quality. The design of the exterior hand railings repeats the same
device (Figures 10 & 11).
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University
Services
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Peterson
Saskatoon Field House
Parking Lot
Figure 13. Ground floor plan. Retrieved from Facilities
Management Division Asset Record System, File 053-4-T.
2.5 Spatial Configuration
Technological changes, such as the use of concrete and steel
structures and the adoption of electric lighting, permitted
changes in the form and spatial configuration of buildings,
although sometimes these effects took several years to manifest
themselves. The Murray Building illustrates one such change in
its use of deep floor plates. Previously, buildings tended to have
narrow floors permitting windows in most rooms. Artificial
lighting allowed buildings to be designed with larger floor areas.
As a large university library, the function of the building lent
itself to this form; books could be stored in rows of stacks that did
not require access to windows. The general spatial configuration
suggested by this approach was for floors arranged with stack
space at their core, and a ring of offices and study spaces around
the perimeter. Larger floor plates also permitted larger rooms
and open plan configurations. These configurations characterize
the original design of the Murray Building (Figures 13-15).
Murray Building ■ 7-269
Figure 14. First floor plan. Retrieved from Facilities Management
Division Asset Record System, File 053-3-T.
Figure 15. Second floor plan. Retrieved from Facilities
Management Division Asset Record System, File 053-2-T.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-270
The spatial configuration of the Murray Building has been
significantly altered by numerous interior reconfigurations and
its interiors maintain little heritage value. The layout of the
building has been fragmented with the piecemeal allocation of
parts of the building to library uses and parts to the Department
of Art & Art History. The result has been a division of the building
characterized by a lack of access and interconnection. Figures
16 through 18 show the results of the 1973 reconfiguration to
accommodate the Arts Department in the building.
The Saskatchewan Archives is still located in the building’s
ground floor and retains its commemorative integrity. Its layout
has scarcely been changed. Figure 13 shows the original ground
floor plan with the archival space in the lower left.
All of the staircases are original to the building.
Figure 16. Ground floor plan after 1973 renovation. Retrieved
from Facilities Management Division Asset Record System, File
053-512-T.
Murray Building ■ 7-271
Figure 19. The steel structure of the Murray
Building, winter 1954-1955. Photo A-597,
retrieved from http://sain.scaa.sk.ca/items/
index.php/university-of-saskatchewanarchives;isdiah
Figure 17. First floor plan after 1973 renovation. Retrieved from
Facilities Management Division Asset Record System, File 053511-T.
Figure 20. A student uses the library in
the MacKinnon Building, 1940. Photo
A-3427, retrieved from http://scaa.usask.
ca/gallery/uofs_events/articles/1956.php
Figure 18. Second floor plan after 1973 renovation. Retrieved
from Facilities Management Division Asset Record System, File
053-510-T.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-272
2.6 Systems
Although steel structural elements had been used previously in
conjunction with other structural systems, the Murray Building
marks the first use of a complete steel structural frame at the
University of Saskatchewan (Figure 19). Concrete floor slabs
are supported by open web steel joists spanning between steel
beams. The exterior greystone walls are a veneer, supported on
steel angles fixed back to the steel structure. The stone is laid up
against backing walls of cast-in-place concrete or clay tile, but
the backing walls are supported by the steel frame.
Having been constructed as a library, the Murray Building’s
structural system also had to take into account the additional live
load attributed to books. A myth circulates that the architects of
the Murray Building failed to take into account the weight of
the books in the building’s design. In the 1970’s students used
this logic to explain why a new library was being built directly
adjacent to the old one. In fact, the original drawings correctly
note the required live load, and the building is structurally
sound. The new library was built simply to accommodate the
rapid growth of the university.
Figure 21. 1958, the Murray Building
being used as a library. Photo A-649,
retrieved from http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/
uofs_buildings/
2.7 Use(s)
The Murray Building was the first purpose-built library at
the University of Saskatchewan, although other buildings
contained library collections prior to its construction. The first
library collection was housed in the MacKinnon Building and
other collections were held in smaller departmental libraries
throughout the campus. Figure 20 shows the early library in the
MacKinnon Building. The Murray Building was also built to
accommodate the College of Law, the provincial archives and a
105 seat lecture theatre that was state of the art in its audiovisual
provisions at the time. Figures 21 and 22 show the old library
card catalogue and the Special Collections area. Figure 23 shows
the Saskatchewan Archives.
Figure 22. Special Collections room, 1958.
Photo A-640, retrieved from http://sain.
scaa.sk.ca/items/index.php/university-ofsaskatchewan-archives;isdiah
Between 1972 and 1974 a new six floor building was added to
the south side of the Murray Building and for a time became
known as the Main Library. The Main Library took over many
of the original functions of the Murray Building; the circulation
desk and much of the book collection was moved into the new
addition.
Figure 23. Two archivists using the reading
room at the office of the Saskatchewan
Archives Board, 1960. Photo S-B6511,
retrieved
from
http://sabphotos.
wordpress.com/
Murray Building ■ 7-273
In the mid 1970’s a series of renovations prepared the Murray
Building for use by the Department of Art and Art History.
This saw the division of the building between library and art
department. The ground floor of the western portion and the
second and third floors of the eastern portion came to be used
for art education and exhibition (Figure 24). The use of the
building for art and art history is not original, but it has been in
place for almost forty years.
Figure 24. Art studio in upper floor of the
Murray Building’s east side.
The consistent use of the Murray Building as a library is characterdefining.
2.8 Cultural & Chronological Associations
The Murray Building can be associated with its namesake, the
first president of the university, Walter Murray. Murray was
appointed president in 1908 and remained in office until his
retirement in 1937. He is well remembered for his vision of a
‘people’s university.’ Walter Murray passed away in 1945. After
his death, a memorial fund was set up in his name for the purpose
of building a library, resulting in the construction of the Murray
Memorial Library. Figure 25 illustrates the unveiling of Murray’s
portrait at the opening of the building.
Figure 25. The unveiling of Walter Muray’s
portrait at the opening of the Murray
Building (then the Murray Memorial
Library), November 30, 1956. The portrait
is currently located in the Administration
Building. Photo A-605, retrieved from
http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/uofs_events/
articles/1956.php
The Murray Building can also be associated with the history
of the library system at the University of Saskatchewan. The
library began loaning books in 1909 from the second floor of
the MacKinnon Building and expanded into small departmental
libraries scattered across the university. As the first purpose-built
library building, the Murray Building unified and consolidated
the library system.
Arthur Silver Morton was the first university librarian and
served in this capacity between 1914 and 1940. Morton was
also the first provincial archivist from 1937 until 1945. He was
instrumental in the decision to allocate space at the University of
Saskatchewan to the Saskatchewan Archives Board.
Annie Maude (Nan) McKay, the first Métis and first Aboriginal
woman to graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, worked
as Assistant Librarian at the University Library between 1915
and 59 (Figure 28).
The third of five children, Nan was born October 10, 1892, at
Fort à la Corne, Northwest Territories to an English Métis family.
In 1912, she won a $200 entrance scholarship, which enabled her
to attend the university. Nan took a very active part in student
life at the university, working on The Sheaf student newspaper,
serving as a member of the Students Representative Council’s
(SRC) executive committee, as secretary of the campus YWCA
and as secretary of the Literary Society. She also played ice hockey
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-274
for university teams. After graduating, she served the assistant
librarian at the University Library until 1959. She died on July
27, 1986, at the age of 93.
3. Associated Objects
The Murray Building has retained much of its original furniture.
Maple chairs and tables are still used throughout the building
and the addition.
Two plaques on the Murray Building honor Walter Murray, and
Arthur Silver Morton (Figures 26 & 27).
Figure 26. Plaque dedicated to Walter
Murray and family.
Figure 28. Annie (Nan) McKay, first
Aboriginal woman graduate of the
university, and Assistant Librarian from
1915 to 1959. (Image: University of
Saskatchewan Library).
Figure 27. Plaque dedicated to Arthur Silver Morton.
Murray Building ■ 7-275
4. Supporting Documents
Kerr, D. (1980). Building the University of Saskatchewan 1907
1930. Prairie Forum, 5(2), 157-181.
Hayes,
P. (March 18, 2005). From the University Archives ‘U
Museum’ Idea Has Long History. On Campus News
12(14). Retrieved from http://news.usask.ca/archived_
ocn/05-mar-18/column_archives.shtml
University of Saskatchewan Archives. (Retrieved 2012). Events
in the History of the University of Saskatchewan 1956:
Murray Memorial Library Opens. Retrieved from http://
scaa.usask.ca/gallery/uofs_events/articles/1956.php
University of Saskatchewan Archives. Presidential Papers
Series III. B-116. Library (1950-1959) RG 1 S3.
Vajcner, M., (Retrieved 2012). The encyclopedia of Saskatchewan,
Morton, Arthur Silver (1870-1945). Retrieved from
ht t p : / / e s a s k . u re g i n a . c a / e nt r y / m or t on a r t hu r _
silver_1870-1945.html
Warden, K. (Retrieved 2012). Campus Myths Add Spice for
First-Year Students. Retrieved from www.brainsugar.
com/media/UofSCampusMyths.doc
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-276
5. Summary of Character - Defining
Elements
Materials ■ greystone walls
■ Tyndall stone trim, spandrel panels and soffit
■ granite wall panels
■ maple doors and surrounds
■ terrazzo flooring
■ expansive glazing
Form & Style
■ planar facades
■ large cubic volumes
■ asymmetrical composition
■ intersecting volumes and materials
■ lack of ornamentation
■ repetition of elements, such as
windows
■ alternating pattern of window frames, used as a decorative
element
Location ■ the Bowl
Spatial Configuration
■ deep floor plates
■ open plan library stacks
■ study rooms and coves
■ lecture theatre
■ Saskatchewan Archives
■ staircases
Uses ■ library
■ College of Law
■ Saskatchewan Archives
■ art education, practice and display
Cultural &
Chronological
Associations ■ President Walter Murray
■ History of the U of S library system
■ Arthur Silver Morton, first librarian
Murray Building ■ 7-277