Video: Designing an innovation ecosystem on the University of Utah campus

Our team at the Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign has had the thrilling opportunity to be a trusted design partner to the University of Utah over this decade, designing three different buildings that each contribute to the institution's exciting growth trajectory.

This relationship began with Lassonde Studios, a novel live-learn-launch space that mergers housing with maker, startup and innovation space to spark entrepreneurship.

Then, we partnered with the university to build on that success with the Impact & Prosperity Epicenter, a similar live-learn community oriented around social impact that sits immediately next to Lassonde. Now, we have designed the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, a building that will unite medical education, advanced simulation, anatomy, global health and collaborative learning together under one roof when it opens in 2026.

We recently had the opportunity to visit the campus to capture the essence and impact of this decade-long relationship, and I've included the video immediately below.

While each project at the University of Utah is connected, they are remarkably distinct in their mission and architecture. In each instance, our team worked thoroughly to translate the university's vision and push exciting new design boundaries.

Our team still frequently talks about our interview for the Lassonde Studios project. While it is common to show past work during design interviews, we did not in this instance.

We told the University of Utah leadership that we couldn't show them examples of similar entrepreneurial education buildings, because nobody had ever designed this type of building before. This was an original design journey that would challenge assumptions about student housing, learning and business, and we needed to embark on it together.

The building established a new paradigm for entrepreneurial education design, stacking 400 student residences atop a 20,000 square-foot innovation hangar. Countless student-led startups have stemmed from the Studios and it has been profiled by leading media including the New York Times, EdSurge, Architectural Digest, Fast Company, Business Insider, Bloomberg and more.

Our team likes to affectionately call the Impact & Prosperity Epicenter a nerve center due to all the dynamic functions it connects. The building echoes many of the best attributes of Lassonde Studios, this project also stacks student housing atop a first floor that is open to the entire campus community and focused on collaboration.

The Epicenter breaks new ground in how it also infuses the headquarters of two dynamic university departments, the Center for Business, Health and Prosperity and the Sorenson Impact Institute.

The goal is for diverse students from all different disciplines to live in the building amidst impact investors, prosperity thought leaders, entrepreneurs, health professionals, policy experts, and more - all in the name of positive social impact in Utah and across the globe.

Most recently, we have partnered with the university to design the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. This building is at the forefront of a new generation of medical education centers focused on collaboration and early integration of clinical training.

The centerpiece of the design is a multistory forum where faculty and students can gather and connect, all surrounded by adaptive classrooms, state-of-the-art medical simulation centers, labs, amenities and more.

We have had incredible partners throughout this effort, most notably the University of Utah itself, but also numerous local design firms in EDA, VCBO and MHTN Architects.

It has been an incredible decade-long design journey, and the impact is profound. Still, our team sees the university's boundless aspirations for the future... we like to think the journey is still just beginning.