Designing a new museum within the Utah State Capitol complex is no small feat — but the result is a rewarding and lasting monument to our state.

Among the most complex challenges was engineering an environmentally controlled system to house and protect the Museum’s collection when not on display.

Step into the subterranean levels below the North Capitol Museum and you’ll find a state-of-the-art facility purpose-built for receiving, cataloging, storing, and restoring artifacts. The process begins with decontamination — many incoming artifacts pass through a large walk-in freezer before entering the collection to kill pests that could damage the collection. From there, massive ten-foot doors open to a protected storage area lined with Spacesaver high-density mobile systems, engineered to maximize every square foot of usable space.

Because water poses one of the greatest threats to historical artifacts, the facility is also protected by a VESDA aspirating smoke detection system. VESDA continuously samples the air, capable of detecting a fire hazard up to 24 hours before an event, allowing for the neutralization of any threat long before damage can occur.

With the project nearing completion, ajc is excited and proud that our team is part of preserving Utah’s history for generations to come.

The Museum of Utah will open in June 2026