Industry Marketplace

Industry Marketplace was inspired by its surrounding site and neighborhoods, a special development district in the City of Aurora.  The neighborhood is currently industrial in nature, with car shops, trades, and a significant and successful history of industrial business.  While development relies on commerce, Industry Marketplace seeks to combine the goals of the future with the community’s past. With Westerly Creek being a neighborhood of change, currently separating Stapleton from Aurora, we sought to develop a building that will invigorate the neighborhoods, mix and empower their residents, and draw visitors to and through the area.

 

On the site, educational facilities through apprenticeship and mentorship combine with professional offices, studio space, public retail markets, and varied sizes of private workshops.  This program creates a life cycle fostering the transition from novice to master, cultivating community and kinship. With open workshops on display, the connection from maker to buyer is understood.  An educational mock-up facility is the heart of the building, with a multi-height space open to the Atrium Marketplace, where student work is constantly in process and displayed. Privately operated workshops and retail on the main street share common wood shop, metal shop, and digital fabrication facilities, creating community and interaction among users.