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Teaching and Learning Center

Building Information
Teaching and Learning Center
Teaching and Learning Center

Geographic Coordinates: 46.727385, -117.013004

Location: 966 University Avenue

Building Overview

Date: 2003-

Standing: Yes

Name History: Previously University Classroom Building

Architect: Opsis Architecture (Portland)

Architectural Style: International Style/Contemporary

Description: Originally constructed in 1965. Designed by Fulton Gale Jr. of Culler, Gale, Martell, Norrie & Davis, remodeled significantly in 2005 by Opsis Architecture.

Use History: Construction began in 2003; completed Fall 2005.. 29 classrooms, a computer teaching lab, two digital teaching labs, the Office of the Dean of Students, study areas, cyber cafe.

Cost: $12,500,000. $12.5 million

History

The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) originally opened in 1964 as the University Classroom Center (UCC). The UCC was a classroom facility with enclosed interior classrooms and open-air hallways. The building represented the only example of exposed-concrete Brutalist construction on campus, notable for its west-facing sculptural shading elements. In 2003, the UCC closed for a major renovation and reopened in 2005 as the TLC. The remodel enclosed the exterior corridors, added a connection to the adjacent Student Union Building (1999), and introduced Northwest Regional Style design elements. The TLC currently functions as a hub for general-use classrooms at the University of Idaho.1

Design

The renovated structure follows a three-story, rectangular-form Postmodern design. The exterior combines references to Brutalist and Northwest Regional styles. Red stretcher-bond brick clads the façade, and a recessed curtain wall emphasizes the west elevation. A shed roof supported by angled steel beams shades the large west-facing window walls.2

Physical Description

The building has a flat primary roof. Windows are fixed-sash with plain trim and no sills. Doors are glass with metal frames. Interior classrooms and corridors were reconfigured during the 2003–2005 renovation to support flexible general-use classroom layouts.3

Notes

  1. Nathan J. Moody, “National Register of Historic Places—Registration Form: The University of Idaho Historic District,” initial submission to Idaho SHPO, unpublished, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, May 7, 2025, 50-51. ↩

  2. Ibid. ↩

  3. Ibid. ↩

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