Urban Theory & Design

This fall 2018, Professor Caroline Lavoie’s urban design studio took on the challenge of planning and designing for 1300 acres in Ogden, Utah. With the great help of Greg Montgomery (BLA 1980), LAEP students engaged in analysis, conceptual design and illustrations of selected sites along the west sides of Ogden between the Ogden and Weber Rivers. They investigated how the railyard and the rivers related to the City of Ogden, and how these areas have the potential to enrich the city’s identity by improving existing districts and creating new ones.

The students have done an amazing job of imaging the future and what the future can entail and catching some of the things that we’ve had on our minds for a long time.

-- Tom Christopulos, Ogden Director of Community and Economic Development

As a class, the project area was broken into six different districts, each with unique challenges and opportunities. Throughout the project, four major themes presented themselves for each team to address as they came up a consensus for design. These themes highlight how to reconnect to the city:

• Rediscovering history

• Reconnecting community

• Significance of the rivers

• Reconnecting assets

The students presented to the City Council in April. Their vision, plans, ideas and document proved to be very useful and embraced by the City of Ogden. The physical model produced is currently in display at the City Hall and used by City officials, staff and general population of Ogden to discuss the ideas proposed by the students. The class-wide project won a 2019 Utah ASLA Honor Award in May. Very well deserved!

Though often supplanted with digital versions, traditional models visually communicate with the client, helping them to see the potential in a site.