McKenzie Hall – University of Oregon

Name: McKenzie Hall (formerly Grayson Hall)
Address: 1101 Kincaid Street
City: Eugene
Year of Construction: 1971
Architect: Wilmsen, Endicott, and Unthank
Original Use: Education
Status: In Use
National Register of Historic Places: Not Listed

Description

Built between 1968 and 1970, McKenzie Hall was conceived to be the new home of the University of Oregon Law School. The building was designed in the Brutalist style, a post-war architecture movement characterized by massive, geometric shapes and the use of exposed concrete. In fact, the word Brutalist comes from the French phrase béton-brut, which literally means “raw concrete”.

McKenzie Hall is a four-story building with an irregular, rectilinear plan enclosed by brickwork walls and supported by concrete structural elements. Exterior surfaces are clad in yellow brick, while columns and beams are covered with rough cast concrete for textural effect and to emphasize floor divisions. The elegance of the building and the use of yellow brick echoes Fenton Hall, an Italian Renaissance Revival style building that housed the Law School before McKenzie Hall was built.

To contrast with its oversized geometric mass, the building features a sunken courtyard on the eastern side of the building. The designer was Lloyd Bond and Associates, a landscape architecture firm based in Eugene. The minimalist landscape design was enriched in 1979 with the installation of “The Keeper”, a stone sculpture by artist Steve Gillman, a University of Oregon School of Arts and Design graduate. On the north facade of the building hangs a metalwork piece, “Untitled” by Lin Cook, who also graduated from University of Oregon.

The building underwent a general renovation between 1999 and 2000 to update offices and classrooms . The firm SRG Partnership led the project. Fifty years later, the building is still in good condition.

References

“Historic Resource Survey Form: McKenzie Hall.” Campus Planning & Facilities Management – University of Oregon. Last modified , 2006. Accessed September 12, 2020. https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/sites/cpfm2.uoregon.edu/files/mckenzie05_30_07.pdf.

“President to nominate first black graduate of A&AA in renaming.” Around the O – University of Oregon. Last modified May 24, 2017. Accessed September 14, 2020. https://around.uoregon.edu/content/president-nominate-first-black-graduate-aaa-renaming.

Hopkins, Owen. “The Dezeen guide to Brutalist architecture.” Dezeen. Last modified September 10, 2014. Accessed September 13, 2020. https://www.dezeen.com/2014/09/10/dezeen-guide-to-brutalist-architecture-owen-hopkins/.

Ritz, Richard E. 2003. Architects of Oregon: a biographical dictionary of architects deceased, 19th and 20th centuries. Portland, OR: Lair Hill Pub.

Teague, Edward H. “McKenzie Hall.” UO Libraries – University of Oregon. Accessed September 13, 2020. https://library.uoregon.edu/architecture/oregon/mckenzie.