The Nexus of Regenerative Design

Architectural Nexus’ aims for a second bullseye with at the Living Building Challenge pushes past sustainability and into something better—regenerative design.
By Taylor Larsen

It is rare to find people willing to put their money where their mouth is time and again.

In a world full of bland corporate-speak and empty virtue signaling, Architectural Nexus went all in on their values by tackling the Living Building Challenge (LBC) with their Salt Lake City office.
 
The Choice to Renovate

A rich history permeates the building that sits near the base of Parley’s Canyon. What was originally built for the US Geologic Survey in the 1950s transformed into a manufacturing and sales plant for commercial digital audio equipment in the ’70s. Next, it was a medical office building before becoming a fitness center.

But after that, the most recent two remodels have been Architectural Nexus’ very own. The initial building was going to be a challenge to renovate into something that could project the company’s values. Julie Berreth, principal in charge of the new renovation and VP of Operations for Architectural Nexus, said that version of the building wasn’t initially pleasing to the eye. 

“I remember walking in [before the renovation] and just groaning. It was dark and dreary,” she said. However, the design took off as the architects began to imagine what the space could be. “As soon as sketching started to happen, [what resulted] was genius.”


Adding courtyards and a lovely two-story lobby were two components that aided the renovation in earning LEED Double Platinum. “But we were merely sustainable,” said Kenner Kingston, a driving force behind the push for LBC Certification. He and the company wanted more.

Renovating into a Living Building

The renovation originally conceived was five remodels over five years. The Architectural Nexus team laughs at what that would have been like in retrospect—the pandemic allowed them to do the renovation in one fell swoop.

The architects enlisted previous partner Jacobsen Construction to oversee this second renovation—the same contractor that helped renovate the building in 2009. Matt Nelson, Project Manager for Jacobsen Construction, knew it would be demanding to create only the second LBC Certified building out of a renovation—the Architectural Nexus’ Sacramento office was the first project in California to earn that rarified designation. 

One would expect that such a challenge would figuratively require blood, sweat, and tears to construct regenerative systems and meet stringent performance requirements. Nelson and others said that nicks, bruises, and long days may have made that sentiment literal, too. It started with the extensive demo plan—the most extensive demo plan Nelson and his team had ever seen.

“We couldn’t demo, we had to disassemble,” he said. Nelson said this “disassembly” process was a recognition of what materials were already present in the building and cataloguing them. Then, teams removed parts of the building before weighing those materials, which had been meticulously color-coded, before sorting aspects into demolition, salvaging, donation, or recycling, or landfill.

Sourcing

As the construction teams catalogued and removed building materials, new ones were on their way. But sourcing “clean” materials was a large part of the challenge. 

“When LEED first came out, it was a big game-changer. It was hard to get VOCs, recyclables,” and other variables lined up to meet U.S. Green Building Council standards, according to Nelson. “And this is more aggressive than any LEED project I’ve ever been a part of. […] The industry doesn’t fully know how to accommodate a building like this.”

Much like a nutrition label on food, the LBC exposes what goes into our built environment. Sourcing materials like steel, wood, and concrete were no problem for Nelson and his team. They salvaged the old gym’s wood floors, one of the materials that has made it through the last two renovations. The project team also looked to localize their construction materials, finding high-quality products closest to the building’s location to cut carbon emissions from the construction supply chain—bringing “shop local” into construction’s vernacular.

Fixture submittals and other materials that required multiple components were the real challenges in sourcing. “Think about a faucet,” Nelson said, walking through the intricacies of what is necessary—sink tub, drain pieces, countertop, et cetera. “Now, do any of those pieces have chromium VI in them? Those are rejected.”

What is restricted from this building is impressive. The LBC “Red List” excludes the use of “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements prevalent in the building products industry—each known to pose severe risks to human health and the greater ecosystem.

As a result, there is an unexpected bit of comedy. Unlike a new book, car, or even house, “There is no smell in the new building,” according to Nelson.

Though the obstacles are evident, sourcing according to LBC standards isn’t a disadvantage—it is another way to be intentional about the choices that make up our built environment.

Creating Place


The company looked to nature for a critical component of the design.

“Nature doesn’t make single-purpose items,” said Kingston of the fundamental concept of regenerative design. Take a plant stem for instance, “It’s structure, it’s plumbing, it’s energy transfer.”


Architectural Nexus took that analogy to create an architectural vision around essentialism, where everything in the building is here because it needs to be here—no fluff.

Kingston explained, “Essentialism says ‘What if I can have two things, but what if I can do it with one?’” Much like a flowering plant, their building aimed to be full of utility, purpose, and beauty.


The greater utility of the office’s items swerves away from being stuck on specificity or minimalism. “We meet the need, and we serve a [visual] purpose,” said Karen Cahoon, Associate Interior Designer and the lead interior designer on the project for Architectural Nexus. She pointed out the new office’s cabinets, which store objects in a clean and uniform way and do so without hardware—another nod to essentialism. So, similarly, things like whiteboards in the conference rooms double as projector screens, everything is multi-purposes.


What the Building Has Grown to Be


The pandemic provided an unexpected silver lining to today’s office. Berreth and fellow Architectural Nexus Principal Robb Harrop, lead designer on the project, each described the time working from home as one where everyone stuck to the essentials and made do with whatever they had while working remotely.


The new layout is a radical change in philosophy for the firm, even if their collaborative nature has always been present. “Everyone used to ‘live in an apartment,’ and everything in that apartment was what you owned,” said Harrop of the previous configuration. “Now we’re asking you to reside in a room but live in a house. You get to enjoy all of the amenities of the conference room and breakout rooms as opposed to living in your little cubicle.” 


Today. people can “plug-and-play” in any of the different workstations around the 30,000-SF office, or just take their computers with them to the interior courtyards or the outdoor gathering spaces.

“It’s been fun to watch how employees act differently in the new building,” said Harrop. “People are in the courtyard sitting and moving around a lot more.” No more closed-off cubicles, no more people separated by seniority—just colleagues sharing space throughout the five neighborhoods in Arch Nexus SLC.


They can enjoy not just their firm's architectural labor, but the quiet majesty of the space. Cahoon chose a color scheme with pops of color to differentiate the six neighborhoods and provide visual interest for occupants. Chairs in the hoteling offices pay tribute to famous architects—Patricia Urquiola, Jens Risom, Frank Gehry—and furnish the right amount of whimsy for enjoying work.


Laboratory of Ideas


Those interviewed from Architectural Nexus described the new office functions as an experimental laboratory for building choices. The open concept with plug-and-play collaborative design was just one element. Natural ventilation was another.


“It’s taken us many decades to get us to think about [heating and cooling] this way again,” said Brian Cassil, Director of Communications for Architectural Nexus, concerning natural ventilation systems. It is refreshing to walk through the office and experience the natural breeze from the two indoor courtyards and their opened curtains of windows. 


Beyond natural ventilation, experimenting with daylight simulation was time well spent. Solatubes and light wells in the interior courtyards provide bounteous sunlight throughout the office and help conserve the company’s electricity bill.


The firm’s desire to be the testing grounds for new ideas also turned the office into a bit of a greenhouse—just without the swampy humidity. Data from their Sacramento office encouraged the Arch Nexus team to insert lots of lush greenery. “The ferns have been crazy from day one,” said Cassil of the plant growth. “They just go gangbusters.”


There are seemingly endless examples that move the regenerative building conversation forward. “People can come into our building and see [these regenerative elements of a building]—they don’t have to sit in a conference room and hear us talk about it and imagine,” said Harrop. “They can experience it.”


Regenerative Systems


And there is a lot to sell to clients. Harrop explained the regenerative components inside the building include the gray water system, living walls, and Solatubes. Exterior courtyards, water capturing cisterns, and PV array make up the outdoor systems.


The solar panels atop the steel parking structures generate just over 115% of the building’s electricity needs and power some electric vehicles. It’s helpful in a multitude of ways and a special treat for Cassil and others who use the EV chargers. He will never have to go to the gas station again, “except maybe for some taquitos,” Cassil laughed.

Nelson was quick to praise the subcontractors, who elevated their intentionality on such a complex project. That creativity was especially evident in one of the more dreary parts of a building—wastewater collection. Vacuum toilets waste very little water, using the gray water system instead of potable water. That water goes through quite a process, traveling through UV lights, three filter tanks of sand and gravel, and another sump before it goes to flush toilets and water the living walls and outdoor landscaping.


Architectural Nexus’ Megan Recher, Regenerative Design Specialist with Architectural Nexus, works closely to make sure systems are running as designed. Whether it is donning waders to check the gray water system or checking energy usage, she’s an integral part in meeting LBC standards to make sure that this “home” can continue to support its residents.


Resiliency


The firm’s renovated headquarters is advancing the concept of resiliency, a value gaining steam as lakes dry out around the state and temperatures oscillate between extremes.


The battery storage and solar array alone can keep the essential systems running for a week without external power. To Kingston, it’s an obvious solution beyond the self-described “hippie” concepts.


“There is a business reason for these decisions,” he said. That reason is the potential loss of thousands of dollars every hour the systems aren’t up and running to meet client demands. Recher is heavily involved in making sure electrical systems and usage are closely monitored. Various controls shut power completely off for the office computers after the last employee is out of the office for the night—no standby power usage here. 


“The difficulty isn’t in concepts or technology,” according to Cassil. These systems aren’t novel, but rarely are so many used together at once. “The difficulty is getting everything to work in harmony.”


These are all concepts and systems that are readily available and whose price is very similar to standard systems—the issue is change. Recher mentioned that the ceiling for clients is imaginary. But going above and beyond today’s standards requires curiosity and intentionality that isn’t always prioritized in the breakneck scheduling that has become the A/E/C norm.


The intentionality here feels at once unique and achievable, .

It goes back to that multi-purpose nature mentioned earlier. This building serves not just as an office but as a new way forward. A regenerative built environment is possible.


“All these things we are doing … They are not novel. They are not hard. They are not expensive,” said Kingston. “But they are critical.”


ARCH NEXUS SLC

Owner: Architectural Nexus
Architect: Architectural Nexus
General Contractor: Jacobsen Construction
Civil Engineer: Meridian Engineering
Electrical Engineer: BNA Consulting
Mechanical Engineer: Capital Engineering Consultants
Structural Engineer: ARW Engineers
Interior Design & Furniture: Architectural Nexus
Plumbing Subcontractor: Budd Rich Plumbing Inc.
HVAC Subcontractor: Rocky Mountain Mechanical
Electrical Subcontractor: Arco Electric
Concrete: Jacobsen Construction
Steel Fabrication & Erection: Clegg Steel
Glass/Curtain Wall: Mollerup Glass & Alder Sales
Masonry Subcontractor: RJ Masonry
Drywall/Acoustics: HD Acoustics
Painting: Fisher Painting
Tile/Stone: JRC Tile & Stone Inc
Other Specialty Subcontractors: Jacobsen Flooring Services, Layton Roofing, Guaranteed Waterproofing & Construction, DJ Johnson, A-Core Concrete Specialists

Q&A with Nathan Goodrich

By UC&D • August 1, 2025
Nathan Goodrich

100 Years & Five Generations

By Brad Fullmer • August 1, 2025
Paul founded Paulsen Construction in 1925 after immigrating from Norway 16 years prior. Sprague Library in Sugar House was originally built by Paul, and then restored nearly 100 years later, led by current President John Paulsen.

State of Industry; State of Progress

By Utah C&D • August 1, 2025
West Valley City Veteran’s Memorial Expansion Owner: West Valley City Architect: EDA Architects GC: Okland Construction Estimated Completion Date: September 2025

Showroom Showstopper

By Taylor Larsen • August 1, 2025
Commercial office is not dead. The market is alive and well, according to the design pros at HB Workplaces team. Their new office and showroom in Draper, and what it has done for employees and clients, is a case in point. All it took was a change in scenery. Transitioning from the B'Nai Israel Temple, built in 1890, to a new space was a welcome change for the team. "I just remember working between 2015 and 2020, and it was just," Keilian Meyer trailed off as he described the former office, a historic religious building converted into an office and showroom in 1987. Minimal natural lighting, rooms and layouts misaligned for team needs—their space wasn't bringing out anyone's best work. Meyer, Marketing Director for HB Workplaces, said going to work didn't engender a sense of engagement. "It was kind of punch in and punch out." But everything coalesced with their move. "The timing aligned perfectly," Meyer said of the June 2024 move and their rebrand from the year before from Henriksen/Butler to HB Workplaces. Dual Purposes Come to Life It aligned with every real estate broker's favorite word: location. Planting the HB Workplaces flag in the award-winning Baltic Pointe made perfect sense, especially with its epicenter locale between the booming economies of Salt Lake and Utah counties. HB Workplaces CEO Dave Colling summed it all up succinctly: "Our new headquarters is not just another building; it's a statement of our appreciation and stewardship of design, built upon decades-long heritage of our own, along with MillerKnoll, underscoring our commitment to excellence." The mass timber ceilings in HB Workplaces' first-floor office in Baltic Pointe—the first of their kind for a commercial building in Utah—are part of that commitment. Everything seems warmer, healthier, and better under the all-lumber ceiling. "We've always been drawn to inspiring architecture, and the natural warmth and intentionality of this structure made it a natural fit," said Meyer. HB Workplaces sought to make their mass timber home a showpiece for the beautiful and wide-ranging possibilities of today's commercial interiors, serving as an office for the HB Workplaces team and a showroom for interior designers and architects looking to envision their next project. That dual nature comes through perfectly across the space, with the showroom piece especially highlighted in the "Living Room" and its 382 SF of mid-century modern glory. The unforgettable Eames Lounge chair catches the eye, but closer inspection reveals some nods to the B'Nai Israel Temple's stained glass windows and other homages to the deep histories of the Herman Miller and Knoll brands. The room's mid-century-style lounge chairs, couches, ottomans, and side tables—all MillerKnoll line, of course—combine with gentle lighting to create the perfect spot for hosting. Brit Badger, HB Workplaces' VP of Client Development, explained how the Living Room is ideal for getting to know their design partners and clients, especially for a first meeting. "It's not all the same seating everywhere, like it would be at a conference room," she explained of how the varied seating choices—the Nelson Coconut Lounge Chair is often first dibs—help to create a relaxed and comfortable environment. "It's cool to see who chooses what. It's a fun way to start."

ASCE 2025 Report Card For Utah

By Brad Fullmer • August 1, 2025
Bragging about a “C+” might seem gauche, but Utah is one of only four states to earn that high a grade, according to the May 28 release by the Utah Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) of the 2025 Report Card for Utah’s Infrastructure. The cumulative “C+” for the Beehive State is the highest mark ever given by ASCE to any individual state—the report card itself spans 12 categories of infrastructure and is virtually unchanged from 2020 (ASCE issues report cards every four years). Utah's grade is also one step higher than the national infrastructure average grade of “C” in the ASCE 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which dropped in March. Roads (B+) and Bridges (B) remain the stars of the class, as the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) continues to receive consistent state funding in furthering its aggressive program of building new projects to meet ongoing demand, while diligently maintaining existing infrastructure. “Our transit and transportation are doing fabulous," said Anna Lisonbee, President of ASCE Utah and an Engineer-in-Training at South Jordan-based Hansen, Allen & Luce. “UDOT and UTA are lauded as some of the most efficient [organizations] nationwide, so we’re doing very well in that category.” Aviation infrastructure was the only category to see a grade increase—somewhat predictable given the sheer amount of capital investment made over the past decade at Salt Lake International Airport, Provo Airport, and other regional airports statewide. Three categories—bridges, s tormwater, and transit—saw grade decreases. The remaining eight categories held steady from 2020. "Utah is one of the fastest-growing states in the country, and state leaders have taken steps to ensure the reliability of infrastructure systems as more people move here to enjoy Utah's thriving communities, amazing outdoors, and high quality of life," said Craig Friant, Utah Civil Practice Lead for South Jordan-based Wilson & Company and Chair of the 2025 Report Card for Utah's Infrastructure. Utah grades per category: Roads: B+ Bridges: B Drinking Water, Solid Waste, Transit: B- Aviation, Dams, Hazardous Waste: C+ Stormwater, Wastewater: C Canals: D+ Levees: D-

Toward The Promised Land

By Taylor Larsen • August 1, 2025
"What gets you out of Egypt doesn't take you to the promised land." The quote, as I first heard it, came from Ron Dunn, Founder of Salt Lake structural engineering firm Dunn Associates. While he was talking about the differences between founding and growing a company, the same principle holds true in developing a robust transportation infrastructure. In other words: "What got us here will not take us there." What has taken us here has been development dedicated to personal vehicles and last-mile freight—a stellar network of roads and highways from massive investments in horizontal construction. But what will get us "there" to the promised land? What will bring us to a future where Utahns can have the freedom to move without a car? Unified Plan for a Connected Utah? We'll certainly wander in the West Desert without a plan. Lucky us, we have hundreds of agreed-upon proposals across metropolitan planning organizations, cities and towns, counties, and even the Utah Department of Transportation. The Beehive State's guiding document toward long-term transportation plans, whether for cars or not, is found in the Utah Unified Transportation Plan, also known as the Unified Plan. The visionary document aims to prioritize funding across multiple transportation options and give residents choices, ranging from personal vehicles to mass transit and active transportation. Residents and metropolitan planning organizations across the state have added their input to further unify the state's trajectory. Key in Utah's Unified Plan, as documented, is analyzing and ultimately determining how transportation projects in Utah should be funded between 2023 - 2050. With projected needs across that timeline estimated at $153 billion in today's dollars, current revenue sources generating just under a projected $95 billion, and future revenue streams projected to generate just over $18 billion, we're going to be short. But where is that money going? Most often, it's funding roads. According to the Unified Plan, transportation needs from road capacity, maintenance, preservation, and operations project at a whopping $110 billion between 2023 - 2050, with a $29 billion funding gap in revenue. Funding future mass transit capacity ($14.8 billion) and operations ($19.8 billion) over the next 25 years costs a fraction of the projected costs for roads and highways. It's an apples-to-oranges comparison, admittedly, as massive funding for highways and freeways has created so much, but where do state priorities lead? Budget at a Glance Utah continues to tread the asphalt and concrete highway to prioritize highway funding. UDOT's FY2026 funding document shows $2.5 billion in funding. Estimated Transportation Investment Fund (TIF) expenditures, primarily used for improving or optimizing capacity, are projected at $1.2 billion. Within the TIF, Class B & Class C Roads, county roads and city streets, respectively, will receive $261 million, Highway Systems Construction $205 million, and Operations/Maintenance $254 million. It makes sense when $883 million in projected revenue for FY2026 comes from user-based fees, permits, and gas tax revenues (set to be 40 cents per gallon in 2026). On the other hand, UDOT-funded mass transit receives a bulk of its budget from the above-mentioned Transportation Investment Fund—35% of the index fuel tax sales tax goes into the Transit Transportation Investment Fund. For FY2026, transit and commuter rail projects will receive $103 million. John Gleason, UDOT's Sr. Public Information Officer, said there is a major shift happening within UDOT over the last decade-plus to give some "gas" to other forms of transportation. "All transportation is important to us. For every project we undertake, we are looking at the different components across all modes—cars, transit, bikes, trails," Gleason said. "We need to keep an eye on how the entire transportation system can function across the state." The words and shift in priorities are welcome, but what "Keeps Utah Moving", will not be more highway lanes or highway construction that receives the lion's share of transportation funding. Utah highways, like those in so many other states, are the victims of induced demand. The phenomenon is a matter of economics. For vehicle transportation, each lane added, highway developed, or road widened helps to expand capacity on these newly modified transportation corridors. However, expanding capacity does not mean solving traffic concerns. While capacity expands, more people are "induced" to use these freshly expanded corridors, lanes fill back to capacity, and commutes return to their sluggish nature. This never-ending quest to meet our transportation needs is set to play out again on I-15. UDOT is set to add another lane on I-15 from Farmington to Salt Lake, and do so at a multi-billion-dollar price tag. Surely this lane will be "The One" that fixes the traffic problem on Utah's busiest transit corridor? Utah may still be adjusting to roundabouts, but will we ever get out of this circle?

Limitless Sky

By Brad Fullmer • August 1, 2025
Standing atop the now-tallest building in Utah—the dynamic 451-foot, 680,000-SF Astra Tower in downtown Salt Lake City—Lance Shields was succinct in describing the otherworldly, 360-degree views available from the 41st-floor rooftop patio. “Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” mused Shields, a Principal with Salt Lake-based HKS Architects and one of a half-dozen architects on HKS’ team who contributed to the design of Astra Tower, which features 377 total units, two levels of penthouse suites, and more than 40,000-SF of top-shelf amenity space. Peering southeast to majestic views of the Wasatch Mountains, Shields referenced the striking cantilever structure gracing the building’s southeast corner—a concession that preserved the breathtaking view by eliminating what would have been a structural column. Adding this approximately $2 million change to the bottom line only further illustrated the owner’s desire for a world-class luxury apartment tower. “The uninterrupted views of the valley are really breathtaking at the top floor and is the one thing that visitors I have taken through the project consistently comment on as the best experience they have had,” said Shields, adding that it would have been easy to justify a column in that corner. “I have to hand it to the vision of our team and the owner to see the value of the views and taking steps to preserve it.” Indeed, Boston-headquartered Kensington Investment Company (KIC) had been eyeing the Salt Lake market since 2017, ready to make a splash. In 2018, it purchased the site once home to Carl’s Jr. and hired HKS in 2019 to get the ball rolling on the design side. The pandemic forced KIC to pause its timeline, with construction formally kicking off in January 2022, led by Salt Lake-based Jacobsen Construction. “We were taking an enormous risk and writing a massive check while making sure we had as many people with experience on our team as we practically could,” said Ed Lewis, CEO of KIC. “We asked ourselves if Salt Lake City was ready for this kind of product—with no [like-building comparisons] to look to—while making the project financially successful. Putting together the capital stack with no comps in the state, and ensuring the team knew what they were doing, was challenging.” Engagement with the community was a priority from the start, said Shane Rensmon, President of Real Estate Development for KIC, as was finding local A/E/C firms with the moxie to take on a unique hybrid design-build project of this magnitude, a delivery method “not common in Salt Lake City, but common across major markets,” he said. “Ownership wanted to utilize local consultants and vendors as much as possible to get the community involved and engaged with the project, which presented new challenges in designing and constructing Astra Tower,” said Rensmon. “We leveraged [KIC’s] skills and experiences to help guide the design and construction teams on issues that they have not seen before or had little to no experience in.” Hotel-like Vibe with Unmatched Amenities Emir Tursic is no stranger to massive projects, having cut his teeth in the hospitality realm as a draftsman-turned-project architect for HKS on Block A of the enormous $10 billion MGM City Center project in Las Vegas from 2007-2008, which included the 61-story, 600,000-SF Aria Hotel. “It was a project I grew up very quickly with,” recalled Tursic, Office Director for HKS’ Salt Lake office, who ended up managing part of the project before it ended. “After this, I could go to the moon and not be scared of anything.” Even amidst the challenges for Tursic and his team, Astra Tower proved to be one of the most exciting, generational opportunities in the realm of world-class residential high-rise design that—ho-hum—also sets a record as the state’s tallest-ever building. “We wanted to create a sustainable urban community that focuses on wellness and sustainability,” said Tursic. “Sustainability is not just about energy and carbon footprint, it’s also [about] health and wellness and the environment. We have this huge amenity program—40,000 SF of indoor and outdoor amenities space focused on physical and mental health.” Tursic said dispersing major amenities across three building levels was a key functional design consideration. Level 8 kicks things off with an expansive club lounge that includes a demonstration kitchen and entertainment area, a state-of-the-art fitness center where views overlook Gallivan Plaza, a remote office space with a conference room and meeting rooms, and what Tursic calls “The bonus space”—an expansive 10,000 SF outdoor urban park. “Instead of a roof on top of the eight-story parking structure, we created a space with an outdoor lawn, hammocks, fire pits, grills—it’s a great social space for Astra’s residential community,” he said. Level 23 includes the outdoor pool and indoor spa, highlighted by a wellness center, steam room, sauna, recovery spas, treatment rooms, and private locker rooms. The pool deck overlook offers excellent views of the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. Level 41 tops the amenity spaces—literally—with an outdoor kitchen, entertainment area, and a spacious outdoor viewing deck that looks down on Salt Lake’s adjacent tallest buildings. “We wanted to provide a variety of experiences,” said Tursic. “The 41st floor is meant for quiet and solitude.” ROAM Interior Design of Los Angeles provided interior design on every level. "With Astra Tower, we set out to design interiors that reflect both the soul and natural beauty of Utah, infused with the energy of modern city living," said Deanne Teeter, Design Director at ROAM. “Every amenity—from the tranquil spa on the 23rd floor to the rooftop lounge with panoramic views—is intentionally crafted to foster wellness through biophilic connection and a true sense of home in the sky." “Astra Tower was purposefully designed to exemplify KIC's commitment to o perating market-leading apartment buildings, featuring state-of-the-art amenities and an unwavering dedication to service excellence,” said Joe Bird, Vice President of Real Estate Development for KIC. “This intentional design ensures an unparalleled living experience, blending sophisticated facilities with exceptional resident-focused service to set a new standard for urban residential excellence in Utah.”

One for the Ages

By Brad Fullmer • August 1, 2025
Ralph L. Wadsworth watches demolition activity on the I-80/1300 East Bridge Slide in August 2023 with granddaughter, Bradynn Wadsworth (Tod’s daughter), illustrating his genuine passion for construction. (all photos courtesy RLW Construction)

Community First

By Taylor Larsen • August 1, 2025
First. Best. Leader. These are some of the many positive ways people described the late Marshall White, the civic hero and namesake of Ogden's past and future community centers. Marshall White is remembered as the first black police officer in Utah killed in the line of duty after being fatally shot in 1963. Equally important was his dedication to other causes outside of police work: the loving father of seven children; veteran and military doctor who helped establish a clinic at Hill Air Force Base post-WWII; youth mentor who partnered with the Elk's Club to establish the Wall Avenue Recreation Center; President of the Ogden chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Marshall White embodied community, and the original Marshall White Community Center, constructed five years after he died in 1968, was its physical manifestation. The building became a safe haven for youth, especially those with darker skin and different ethnicities from those of Utah "pioneer" ancestry, to learn to swim, take art classes, and participate in sports. But as time passed, the building fell into disrepair as Ogden's population shrank from the 1970s through the 1980s. Structural issues in the building appeared before a crack in the pool grew into a metaphorical chasm as COVID and its effects further disconnected society. Ogden needed champions who would follow in White's footsteps to bring people together, and create a space that would continue his community-building legacy. New Center; Relit Community Beacon Salt Lake-based VCBO was hired in 2020 to evaluate the old facility and propose future alternatives. It began, as VCBO Principal Brent Tippets described, "to replace a failing pool and building. […] It quickly became apparent that this community revolved around the Marshall N. White Community Center as both a gathering space and a historical icon for all minorities and people of humble circumstances." "Budget is always a challenge, but perhaps meeting all the affected parties' expectations was more so," said Tippets. "What was originally a pool and gymnasium replacement became a versatile destination with a plethora of participation options. He and the VCBO team worked with an Ogden City-appointed steering committee of passionate residents who provided valuable input on the importance and utilization of recreation and community spaces. "The Mayor, City Council, and City administration were committed to funding the project at the required level to achieve the grander vision for the facility," said Tippets. The Ogden City Council initially set aside $18 million and later increased the budget to $32 million for a new, 68,900-SF community building, doubling the size of the previous structure. Construction Challenges But challenges arose as soon as excavation commenced. Construction teams led by Vernal-based BHI encountered a dark, organic-looking soil that was previously undiscovered in geotechnical test borings. The surprise soil raised immediate concerns due to its lack of stability and reliability in compaction. BHI's history as an industrial contractor, where safety and lightning-fast communication are treasured, escalated the soil problems immediately. They collaborated and aligned with ownership, geotechnical engineers, and designers amidst evolving conditions to create a plan. Instead of utilizing native soils as initially planned, excavation teams removed the unsuitable material and imported structural fill from Ogden and nearby Plain City to meet compaction and bearing requirements, all while maintaining oh-so-important project momentum. "Working with Ogden City involved a different set of communication and coordination protocols than our typical projects," said BHI Superintendent Scot Marrot. "There was a greater emphasis on public transparency and adherence to specific city regulations. However, it was incredibly fulfilling to collaborate with the city officials who were passionate about providing a valuable resource for their community. The partnership fostered a strong sense of shared purpose and pride in the final outcome."

Daybreak: Then and Now

By Taylor Larsen • August 1, 2025
Thoughtful consideration on Oquirrh Lake transformed the initial idea for the water feature into a community and ecological asset. The 67-acre lake weaves around the 130-acre recreation space, residential area, and wildlife habitat. (Main rendering and photo pictured courtesy LHM)