This new 124,300 s.f. facility is designed for the storage and preservation of state archives, artifacts and public records that require special climate control and protection from environmental and mechanical hazards. Named in honor of Arizona’s longest-serving legislator, Edwynne C. “Polly” Rosenbaum, the Archives Building is the first major non-profit facility of its kind serving Arizona governmental units. The facility includes a treatment room (blast freezing/fumigation), a conservation lab (fume hood areas), cold photography storage, staff work areas, and a research and reading room open to the public. The building protects against every conceivable threat, from fire and water damage to theft and even terrorist attack.

DWL designed the Archives Building to express the enduring values and character of Arizona. A dramatic 3-D sculpture of the state flag guides visitors to the main entry. The building’s colors and shapes suggest a desert cliff face sculpted over the years by wind and water. Light tans, reds and browns merge together, accentuated by turquoise glass windows, to suggest the land and sky that have drawn millions to Arizona over the years.