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Remodeled workspace removes walls, builds teamwork

The task was not simple: create an environment that could improve workflow, increase efficiency, build morale, and remove barriers. To ask for all of that in a space that was underground, outdated, and known for flooding was Herculean. It took about a year to remodel the Financial Services offices on the first floor of the Park Building, but now, the area is not only beautiful and functional, it is also award-winning.

In 2021, Theresa Ashman, then-associate vice president of Financial Services, who recently left the U, reached a watershed moment. Covid-19 restrictions were ending, and her team felt disconnected. Many of her employees worked remotely, and, with 12 different departments spread across 16,000 square feet of various buildings — including the 4th floor of the Park Building — even when they were in their offices, they hardly saw each other. That year, when the first floor flooded and its occupants found a new location, she saw an opportunity to create a new, streamlined, hybrid-friendly office. Chief Financial Officer Cathy Anderson, her boss, agreed.

“We looked at how we use space, and we tried to remove barriers,” Ashman said. “We said, ‘Let’s get rid of the walls and the doors and bring everyone together.’ We wanted something different. We wanted the best of working at home, on campus.”

Ashman envisioned an airy, clean space that had natural light, no matter where you sat. That was a challenge that Studio Long Playing (LP), a small Salt Lake City firm whose three partners all received a Master of Architecture degree from the U, was happy to accept. Studio LP won the bid, excited to take on a project from their alma mater, and even more excited to remodel a building that was originally designed by another U alum, the famous architect Neil Astle.

“We love these tricky remodels,” said Libby Haslam, an architect at Studio LP. “We love changing spaces radically; the idea of transformation is super exciting. The most rewarding types of projects we do are education spaces where we are contributing to the next generations of creators and thinkers.”

To begin the quest of bringing daylight underground, Haslam and her team started going through blueprints of the original building. They were shocked to discover that, next to the exterior wall, buried in the ground, was a perfect courtyard preserved in a concrete shell. They asked if they could remove the dirt and cut a hole to create a window, and were delighted to learn they could remove the entire wall. Voila, daylight.

In October, 2024, Studio LP was selected by a panel of national architects to win the prestigious Merit Design Award from the Utah chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the project, which cost less than $3 million to complete, including the furniture.

The new space is a key part of rethinking the way Financial Services operates. When the team moved in in the fall of 2023, it downsized from 16,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet, combining four reception areas into one, and shifting from 125 private offices to two. They standardized their computing packages and eliminated the use of paper, cutting back on the cost of office supplies. They optimized time in the office based on team meetings, facilitating a hybrid work approach that fits employees who come in every day as well as those who come in several days a month.

Meanwhile, the team’s productivity is high, with 98 percent of requisitions becoming purchase orders in less than 48 hours. Job satisfaction is high, too. In a department of 200 employees that previously had 25 open positions at any given time, with a churn of constant turnover, now only three positions may be open at any point in time, with prospective employees submitting resumes on their own.

The moment Ashman knew the project was a success came at lunchtime, near the one-year anniversary of everyone settling into the office and growing accustomed to the variety of spaces within it — including an outdoor patio, conference rooms, work stations, and a café-type lounge. Seated around a long table, with a pot-luck charcuterie, were employees from different departments, eating and talking.

“We had areas scattered all over the place and none of them knew each other, now they are working together,” Ashman said. “This is what I had in mind, that people would interact and know each other.”