As you cruise around Laramie, you start to notice some intriguing architectural styles. Especially on the University’s campus.
One notable building in Laramie is the Centennial Complex, which houses archival material and artwork from all over the world.
The building is shaped like a mountain to echo the landscape but the interior is notable too.
Wooden timbers resemble trees on the mountainside. The lobby windows are placed so that on the summer solstice the sun lights a coin in the center of the floor.
The building was almost a large, rectangular building with a ground-to-roof “W” on its façade, but in 1993, Antoine Predock won the pitch for the now iconic mountain – often mistaken as a teepee. The building was plated in copper, which was allowed to oxidize to green and then black.
At UW’s American Heritage Center you can view records about the design and construction of the Centennial Complex and many other University and Laramie buildings.