Utah DABC Downtown Facility, Salt Lake City, UT

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Originally selected to represent the cooperative work that was necessary to create a thriving and industrious community in this desert environment, the beehive became the symbol of not only what was to become Salt Lake City but of the entire state of Utah. Modeled after coiled straw domes called skeps that were used in ancient times for bee keeping, its connotations have transitioned over time from traditional religious ideas of prosperity and wealth toward the more community-centric ideas that continue to be reflected today in the changing demographics and attitudes in the downtown area. Playing off this connection between animal and man-made habitats, I imagined hundreds of scale buildings referencing the many iterations of the existing and historical structures that once inhabited the district, organically clustering together to form a metaphorical hive.