This thesis follows and accounts the development of UNION as a strategy that uses techniques of neighborhood renewal, cultural entrepreneurship, real-estate development, and collaborative relationships to cultivate a creative economy and catalyze change in Ogden, Utah. These techniques are discussed through their background and use to provide precedents and insights. This thesis describes the design, early-stage implementation, and growth strategies of UNION, an industrial coworking space. UNION is purposefully leveraging entrepreneurship, architecture, collaboration, and stakeholder-centered design to stimulate social, cultural, and economic development. The City Transformation Model developed for this thesis explains the dynamic and transformative nature of urban environments and serves as a platform for understanding opportunities for engagement. The Reflection and Strategies Used sections toward the conclusion of this thesis is a personal account of what it has been like to utilize Collaborative Design techniques in a large-scale multi-stakeholder engagement—including best practices, challenges, and a synthesis of insights.
Union is an industrial coworking space designed to build a creative economy and stimulate neighborhood renewal in Ogden, UT.
Union is where Ogden's artists, designers, makers, and entrepreneurs come together to make great things.
Poster of the building UNION will occupy at 2444 Adams avenue Ogden, UT 84401.
The CTM demonstrates the ever-changing nature of cities by breaking them into states of identity. Every city undergoes significant changes at some point in its history, the scale of those changes and time in-between them is variable, but change is an intr
Union will function as a live:make space. Our building will have 8 mixed-income residential units and 17,000 square feet of workspaces.
Our building at 2444 Adams Avenue Ogden, UT 84401
This rendering demonstrates the layout and division of our workspaces.
This is a rendering of the view of UNION from the woodshop looking south across the workfloor area.
Painting our first sign in Ogden, UT
Leading a tour of the the building for key stakeholders and collaborators
A sampling of our key collaborators touring the building
Representational illustration of initial vision of Ogden based on the visioning concepts of Donella Meadows.
The first meeting of Union's partners in Portland, OR.
Map of Jefferson District with key buildings called out
Prototype of capstone exhibition at PNCA Open House
Developed in collaboration with Starship
Advertisement for UNION Industrial coworking
Rendering of Union and other key buildings in the Ogden Arts Hub
Union, Ogden Arts Hub, and Jefferson District map
Documentation of woodworking apprenticeship. Photo Credit: Kailey Fry
Representation rendering of the UNION building.
Representation 3D rendering of Union building. first iteration.
Meeting with Deputy Director of Ogden City's Community and Economic Development Office, Brandon Cooper. Photo credit: Amy McIntire
Aerial Tour of Ogden with Alex Bernier. Photo Credit: Amy McIntire
Northeast Corner of UNIION
South end of UNION
Conducting Design Ethnography at Pioneer Square in Portland, OR during a summer concert
Laying out initial business plan structure with the UNION team
Process shot of early stages of naming exercise
Process wall for developing Union
Union Building
Other albums in MFA in Collaborative Design and MA in Design Systems Thesis Works
