Conforming to the constraints of a compact urban site with consideration to its adjacency to a large multi-modal transit hub, our design team developed a modern, ‘right-sized’ design solution to consolidate uses previously housed in multiple other locations. The Police Department expresses transparency and accountability within the community it serves, while ensuring a safe place, for those working and visiting the facility.
Our application of trauma-informed, biophilic design principles includes semi-private quiet spaces for staff on each floor to decompress, have quiet conversations and receive counseling after high-stress events. “Soft” interview rooms give victims a safe, comfortable space to recount events and make statements. Careful consideration of the second and third floor workspace placement and windows maximize natural light penetration while connecting users with place and nature through views of the Wasatch Front and Oquirrh mountains.
Designed to promote active aging, the Midvale Senior Center provides a new model in the design of senior centers. This LEED-Gold certified space responds to the evolving needs of a new generation of seniors by intentionally welcoming baby boomers without alienating the older senior population. Anchoring Downton Midvale, the Center's main entrance, café and recreation spaces actively engage the historic Main Street. Our design balances contextual considerations with a low-profile building form and a siloed staircase that references a nearby historic building.
The building's materiality purposely ties into the history of the area through elements such as the locally-sourced brick, which complements the historic facades along Main Street. The use of copper celebrates the time when Midvale served as a historic center of the once-booming mining industry. The interior incorporates historic photography and signage (including the BPOE sign from Midvale Eagles Club) as well as a site-specific piece of public art celebrating the nearby Bingham Mine anchoring the main lobby.
Fulfilling current and long-term County needs, we developed a Judicial Facilities Needs Assessment and a Judicial Facilities Master Development Plan for Sweetwater County. The resulting Phase I Justice Center co-locates and centralizes several public safety and justice agencies in one place, significantly improving the efficiency, convenience, safety and security of the County’s justice services while creating a distinct civic landmark.
Our design reinforces Sweetwater's community identity by drawing on the unique geology, local resources and cultural history of Southwest Wyoming. Through its locally sourced materials and native vegetation, the building embraces its context and the beauty of the Green River canyon. Bricks of different hues echo the striations of the surrounding buttes, while reused snow fence boards lend concrete walls a rustic texture. Deep reveals in the walls refer to the ongoing process of erosion found throughout the landscape. Inside the courtrooms, beetle-kill pine panels and millwork orient focus on the judge, witness stand and lectern.
We approached the design with the philosophy that those working to promote community health should experience a healthy work environment themselves. Our “healthy building” maximizes natural daylight in working spaces while ensuring energy efficiency through passive solar orientation, draft-resistant construction and a geothermal heat pump. The "100 Mile Building" is built from locally sourced materials such as Browns Canyon stone, local Zinc panels and local timber. The Center houses the County Health Department and provides space for the People’s Health Clinic - a non-profit organization that offers basic health services to uninsured residents.
Seamlessly marrying the contrasting needs of a library in the digital age and the preservation of a gem of mid-century modernist architecture, this transformation updated the library while positioning it for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Recognizing its architectural and community significance, we engaged extensively with Ogden's residents, leaders and library staff throughout the design process. The resulting design led to a thirty percent increase in publicly accessible spaces and modern technology and building systems. The dual-focused the design efforts developed a facility that functions as a repository of books and provides community access to multi-media resources.
In addition to the traditional book stacks and reading areas, the renovated library features interdisciplinary spaces to house dedicated science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education-focused spaces. Developed due to needs expressed by the client and community, these community spaces include maker spaces for functions such as film making, general arts studio and small theaters to accommodate readings and music recitals and performances.
As part of preserving the historical integrity, all the original walnut paneling was preserved; most of which was protected in place and carefully refinished. The special collections room in the basement, outfitted with rose wood paneling, was protected through abatement, demolition and new construction phases. The design introduced a new plaza connecting the library to its natural surroundings and incorporated contextually sensitive architectural elements such as new entries and windows to foster community engagement.
Overcoming budget challenges brought about by limited grant funding, we defined critical program needs to develop a cost-effective design. Our continuous evaluation resulted in innovative solutions without sacrificing the project's vision of providing improved accessibility to the courts, changing and shower facilities while providing space for merchandise and a pro shop.
Harmonizing security with public access, the renovation design reimagines the space. We developed dignified spaces for the public with ‘soft’ interview rooms to reduce the trauma for certain people testifying. Acknowledging the courts system is a stressful place we incorporated several biophilic design strategies to reduce occupant stress-levels, improve the sense of well-being and passively improve staff’s ability to maintain a high degree of safety and security. Strategies to accomplish this include maintaining visual site lines throughout allowing staff to readily observe all areas within the facility, Our utilization of natural materials such as wood, stone and even plants throughout the space to re-enforce a connection between the occupants and nature. Everywhere possible we invited natural daylight into spaces within the facility. Our design enabled the opening of exterior walls to invite daylight into offices, cubicles and public spaces, including introducing diffused natural daylight into the courtrooms. We also provided the opportunity for justice among those within the community without internet access by carving out space for two sound-isolated virtual hearing booths in the main lobby.
Honoring Utah's fallen heroes, the Utah Veterans Memorial invites solemn introspection and connection within a respectful space to remember and reflect upon those memorialized. Sited on just over three acres, its only two entrances guide visitors into the plaza facing east, allowing the prominent Wasatch Front in the distance to set the tone upon entry – as if the mountains are paying homage to those memorialized within. Upon entry, visitors find themselves in a subdued yet fitting space. The placement of the names scribed into the wall’s east side, eternally facing the mountains, allow them to be discovered after entry upon turning towards the wall. Arranged chronologically by war and dating back to World War I the names, listed in a random order, form a single continuous roll call of those united in their common sacrifice. At the center of the plaza, two quartzitic sandstone monoliths quarried from nearby Brown's Canyon align to present an outline of Utah. The facing sides of each slab are carved to reflect Zebra Slot Canyon, with a relief at the base representing the canyon’s runoff wash.
Following a successful bond campaign, our process to identify opportunities for improvements involved a a rigorous evaluation of systems and resources. Our process included engaging in collaborative community and user input to uncover everyday users needs to arrive at consensus between the County and the City of North Ogden. The resulting solution doubled the library's program space while providing an updated front entry and new rear entry and façade.
The new spaces within opens up to and welcomes constituents into a an entirely refreshed and modern presence.
EDA's commitment to provide West Valley City with growth-focused solutions resulted in delivering three fire stations for the cost of the two. Originally the City bonded to replace two aging fire stations. It quickly became apparent a third station would be needed to service the City’s rapidly growing neighborhoods. Our focused approach, rigorous programming and design process enabled us to quickly adapt and identify the essential operational and programmatic needs to make a third station possible.
We are leading the process for County and State entities to be housed within a new facility. As part of developing a the design for an addition and remodeled space that considers the work style of each entity, we invested the time needed to engage and listen to each department and communicate our design in an easy to understand manner.
Our study explored opportunities to improve the West Valley City Theater building's ability to provide a state-of-the-art performing arts center for the community of West Valley City. Ideas generated by the study included redefining the image of the facility through spaces such as a large modern, iconic and transparent lobby. We also reviewed relocating the box office, retrofitting the existing theatre-in-the-round, providing a new black box/multipurpose event space and site improvements such as new landscaping, pedestrian accessways, vehicle movement areas and parking.
The 15-year comprehensive master plan for this unique state asset explores and guides opportunities for investment, improvement and expansion. Our team's focus included encouraging year-round activity and exploring revenue streams to ensure the long-term financial viability of the State Fair and the Fairpark itself. Our team performed detailed surveys of the site, the existing facilities and potential development location as well as conducted outreach to the surrounding community through scheduled meetings and in-person and online surveys. The process resulted in a plan that optimizes the Fairpark layout within current boundaries while mitigating negative impacts such as traffic and parking on the surrounding community. The resulting plan divides the site into seven districts including the Jordan Riverwalk, Historic Core, Conference and Expo, Adventure, Animal Experience, Hospitality and White Ballfield.
We led a group of stakeholders to develop a cohesive urban design vision and development strategy to master plan Fairbourne Station, West Valley City's evolving mixed-use downtown district. Located on a compact 15 ace urban site with adjacencies to City Hall and West Valley Central Station TRAX stop the focus included developing a services and amenity rich walkable District. The overall vision clusters high density residential, hospitality, retail, several civic and municipal services, clinical and medical offices and class A commercial office space around community green space.
As part of the over $80 M buildout of the master plan's phase 1, we worked with the City and developer to design and construct the Police Department, Fairbourne Station Office Tower and the District's parking garage.
The Ogden Nature Center (ONC) is a 152-acre wildlife habitat dedicated to environmental education and preserving Utah’s natural heritage. Members of EDA have worked with ONC since 1993 on projects such as its Interpretive Center and L. S. Peery Education Center. Envisioning a unified sense of place while championing environmentally responsible design and planning, we approached the master plan by addressing three critical systems: Built, Human and Natural. The Built System encompassed analyzing physical structures like buildings, mews and visitor centers to identify needs. The Human System focused on user experience and site quality addressing factors such as entryways, parking, trails and amenities. The Natural System evaluated the site's vegetation, wildlife and water resources with recommendations such as enhancing the natural landscape with native-adapted designs, improving irrigation strategies and employing a sustainable water management plan that provides for a stormwater detention system, reduced reliance on potable water and exploring water rights from Millcreek. The final master plan serves as the blueprint for ONC's sustainable future, inviting visitors to reconnect with nature in a revitalized, welcoming environment.
We explored the opportunity to develop an unconventional site for a potential future library site: a dense, interior retail and storage space at the Valley Fair Mall. Our proposed solution lightens the space by introducing a large, central outdoor courtyard which provides daylight and 'views' into all of the programmatic elements including the children's and teen's areas, makerspace, computers and main library stacks. For the exterior our team explored the ability to convert a vast parking area into a public green space to serve as a welcoming gesture toward patrons coming into the library. At the interior mall entrance, we introduced a cafe as a retail space to draw patrons from inside the mall.
To evaluate the feasibility of developing a new Valley Recreation and Community Center centered between the two communities it intends to serve we conducted the community survey to gauge interest and support. Our conceptual designs reflected spaces for the Center’s diverse needs including flexible, multiuse spaces.
The design study to expand for the children’s museum while developing a transparent, vibrant, welcoming presence from 22nd Street. Our proposed solution included design redefining the existing entrance to provide larger and more accessible support for the Storybook Theatre on the main level and a new Grand Party room overlooking the lobby and city. The building's second story overhangs and serves as a sheltered walkway along the west length of the building. The glazed lobby facing 22nd street is a transparent and dynamic presence with convenient entrances at each end. The two-story public lobby, which includes space for promoting current and future Treehouse programs, accommodates gatherings for school groups and other visitors prior to entering the museum-proper. It adjoins a double height atrium space that connecting the west side of the existing building to the new two-story exhibit wing.
Drawing inspiration from modern hospitality the open, light-filled design creates an welcoming and active environment to meet the needs of a new generation of seniors. Generous usage of windows and skylights spread natural light throughout the building, while the inclusion of South Willow Creek, redirected to form a picturesque pond, enhances the site's natural charm. A LEED Gold certified building, the Draper Senior Center is not only environmentally conscious but strategically situated alongside the Draper Library and the TRAX light rail system. Its massing is thoughtfully orchestrated to harmonize with the surrounding context, ensuring that its scale complements neighboring structures despite its larger footprint.
The flagship recreation facility anchors a public plaza shared with the EDA-designed Herriman Library. Serving the diverse needs of three growing cities, our design derived from the vision and needs identified through close collaboration with Salt Lake County, Herriman City, Community Citizens and Local School District and public open houses. The result is a state-of-the-art recreation center designed around sustainable strategies and meaningful locally-sourced materials such as copper clad metal composite panel feature walls blended with aluminum composite panels. At its opening, the LEED Gold center was the County's largest, most energy efficient recreation facility. Inviting natural light in and providing a sense of visual connection and safety our design features numerous large exterior and interior windows.
Our design served as a catalyst for Salt Lake City’s position as a destination for national trade shows and conferences.The centerpiece of our design is a the west entrance – an open and airy pre-function lobby space opening onto Vivint Plaza. Providing an additional 250,000 SF of exhibition, meeting room space and two levels of underground parking served to meet the County's goal of retaining its base of growing convention clientele and attracting larger conventions to the center.
The first ever LEED Certified project in Salt Lake County, certified as LEED Silver, set a standard for public project sustainability in the City and County. The solution included the largest solar-power lighting system in Utah installed up to that time and a 100% storm water retention system.
As Salt Lake City’s living room, John W. Gallivan Plaza supports a wide range of activities and events, including the Twilight Concert Series, winter ice skating, and arts and food festivals. WE have developed a number of design solutions at Gallivan over the course of nearly three decades. Among these are a set of retail shops along Gallivan Avenue, the current amphitheater and ice sheet, and the 21,000 square foot event center/ice support building that won a 2012 AIA Utah Merit Award.
The event space represents the capstone of the Gallivan Center master plan. Built on top the existing Gallivan Center parking, the event space creates a sense of enclosure for the park. Composed of a steel frame, copper paneling, and cast-in-place and pre-cast concrete, it presents a warm and enduring face while honoring the region's long mining history. The building’s lower floor provides support for the ice sheet and the amphitheater. Ringed by balconies its second story expands the center’s conference and special event capabilities. A planted roof positively contributes to the park’s aesthetics when viewed from surrounding buildings.
Accommodating over 20,000 visitors a year, the Education Center supports the environmental education mission and programs of the Nature Center. Its purpose is to serve as a gateway to the nature preserve and a tool to expand awareness of possibilities related to a more sustainable relationship between the built and natural environment. The building serves as a “teacher.” It incorporates a variety of environmentally sustainable materials and systems, interpreted through a range of passive and interactive exhibits. Special features include straw-bale/earthen plaster walls, salvage lumber, displacement evaporative cooling, radiant flooring, heat chimney and natural/adaptive artificial lighting. One hundred percent of the building’s energy is supplied by roof-mounted photovoltaics. Based on our site analysis, the building and fenestration orientation allows for the collection of solar energy. Shielded from the sun during the summer, the building captures beneficial breezes and protects the courtyard areas from the canyon winds emerging from the east. Spaces developed for the facility include a foyer with an interpretive gallery, classrooms for environmental study, six offices for teachers / naturalists, gift and book shop, meeting spaces and a volunteer room with an adjacent volunteer coordinator’s office. The central two-story gallery space is flanked by lean-to wings are sheltered by planted roots.
Designed with people of all ages and interests in mind, we applied age-specific strategies for children (low shelving with engaging end-cap activities) and teens (unique seating to facilitate fun gatherings). Recognizing the way we read and access information is changing, we developed a flexible design, providing the community an asset for digital information connectivity and multi-media creativity. Augmenting daily library programming the multipurpose room with separate entrance allows after-hours community uses.
The building's form and orientation adhere to design concepts developed to minimize energy usage and promote the use of natural daylighting techniques. When it opened, the LEED Gold Library boasted the lowest Energy Use Index (EUI) of the hundreds of buildings in Salt Lake County’s repertoire. EDA utilized an extensive process for building envelope optimization that included energy and daylight modeling to inform the size and placement of openings to achieve both high performance and high-quality daylighting and views. The facility is part of a larger area that includes a recreation center (also designed by EDA) and the City Hall. Its positioning works with the surrounding environment to make an inspiring civic campus.
The two-level expansion and renovation serves the multi-cultural needs of groups throughout its community and features an archival quality storage space that meets the requirements of Smithsonian Art Museum traveling exhibits. Our design accommodates the City’s desired programming needs to host performing art shows, K-12 arts education programs conferences and concert as well as conventions, trade shows and food festivals.
The contemporary design draws on traditional architectural organization with a focus on reflecting Spanish Fork’s strong rural traditions and identity while telling the story of the area’s local masonry tradition. The two-wing solution provides separation between courts and justice functions and the police, each with a separate entrance, while anticipating future expansion needs. To inform the program and design we applied an inclusive, consensus-building and creative problem solving approach to lead the interface between the City, Police Department, Administrative Offices of the Court and Utah County Sheriff’s Department. Siting the building we integrated CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) and building security criteria with urban planning and design considerations to promote walkability, transit connection and public place-making.
We engaged the community to develop a city hall that - rather than having a modern design - reflects the unique culture and heritage of the City's historic core and Main Street. Our solution provides a contextual design response, embodying the character of the surrounding Farmington neighborhood. To scale down the overall building mass, the facility is comprised of four discrete building wings joined by a transparent atrium. Three of the wings invoke the historic frame homes along Main Street, while the fourth and principal wing is a reference to Farmington’s original red-brick city hall. Material choices and design reference Farmington’s heritage and historic architecture without being overly representational or literal. Three of the wings utilize pitched roofs, clapboard wood siding and wood windows to reflect the historic frame homes along Farmington’s Main Street. The brick-clad fourth and principal wing, evokes Farmington’s existing original brick city hall. Other materials on this portion of the building include red sandstone and gneiss granite quarried locally. The difference in materials also serve as wayfinding prompts. The glass atrium denotes the public entrance and lobby with pre-function spaces and connection to City departments, whose offices and support spaces are housed within the white wings. The principal wing’s brick points the way to the city council chambers and community room.
Providing the State Courts space within the existing court facility led to the development of a third courtroom without the need for an addition on to the existing facility. The streamlined civil courtroom space was provided by digitizing active and inactive records and remodeling the associated high density filing rooms and clerical area.
Public support for the year-round swimming pool, including a 10,000 SF natatorium, was outstanding during the design process with many engaged community members. We assisted the City with State Grant/ Loan funding, met with project stakeholders and scaled the project to fit the budget to ensure everything the client could afford was included - without having to raise taxes to afford it. The design took into consideration - among other factors - chemical delivery availability, system reliability and value.
To serve a rapidly growing population, we assisted with community outreach for this new Swanny City Park indoor-outdoor pool and recreation facility. Our design – including both lap and play pools, a current channel, fitness area, exercise/party room, locker rooms and administrative offices – accommodates the needs of a broad range of users for generations to come. The materials used reflect the area's iconic landscape, considers durability and provides for ease of maintenance.
Working closely with Summit County leaders our team developed a useful modern building reflecting its rugged mountain surroundings. The design materials were selected for durability and ease of maintenance. Its 87,000 SF indoor, multi-purpose practice field provides year round access to soccer, lacrosse and other field sport teams year-round in an area where flat playfield spaces are limited and weather can be challenging. In addition to the playfield, the design allows the building to host a wide range of other fitness and athletic activities and has been adapted for a variety of special events.
Set within Ogden's urban landscape, the three-story building represents a departure from traditional recreation centers. Our team integrated private, for-profit elements by paying careful attention to adjacencies with other of functional elements. The center features a vertical air tunnel, climbing wall, full-size gymnasium, multi-use court, fitness and dance studios, a flow rider pool, indoor lap pool, bowling alley and restaurant complex.