TAGGART Architects designed Mercedes-Benz of Northern Arizona as two clearly differentiated zones — a glass-and-steel showroom facing the street and a Split Face Grey CMU service wing behind it. The CMU does exactly what the program requires: it gives the service building a durable, low-maintenance envelope that matches the brand’s clean aesthetic without trying to compete with the showroom’s transparency. Smooth Grey accents at the parapet cap the wall with a crisp finish line. Loven Contracting and G & G Masonry delivered consistent coursing across a large service footprint, and the Grey palette reads well against the volcanic rock face of Mt. Elden visible from the site. Nearly a decade on, the masonry shell shows no sign of the wear that alternative cladding systems would by now.