Union Studio Architecture & Community Design
@unionstudioarch.com
Places of Value. Value of Place.
We use the power of design to enrich lives and strengthen communities.
We use the power of design to enrich lives and strengthen communities.
"I feel definitely supported by the things we have in place here that I think make us a little unique from other firms."
- Nicole Pearson, Designer
Developing the next generation of architects is central to who we are. We're honored that AIA continues to recognize this commitment.
- Nicole Pearson, Designer
Developing the next generation of architects is central to who we are. We're honored that AIA continues to recognize this commitment.
December 19, 2025 at 4:26 PM
"I feel definitely supported by the things we have in place here that I think make us a little unique from other firms."
- Nicole Pearson, Designer
Developing the next generation of architects is central to who we are. We're honored that AIA continues to recognize this commitment.
- Nicole Pearson, Designer
Developing the next generation of architects is central to who we are. We're honored that AIA continues to recognize this commitment.
@dwell.bsky.social Magazine featured UNION’s Co-Founder Douglas Kallfelz in a piece on designing affordable housing that feels truly part of its neighborhood. As Douglas notes: “People want affordable housing that doesn’t feel separate from the community.”
Read more here:
unionstudioarch.com/251210
Read more here:
unionstudioarch.com/251210
December 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
@dwell.bsky.social Magazine featured UNION’s Co-Founder Douglas Kallfelz in a piece on designing affordable housing that feels truly part of its neighborhood. As Douglas notes: “People want affordable housing that doesn’t feel separate from the community.”
Read more here:
unionstudioarch.com/251210
Read more here:
unionstudioarch.com/251210
We remain very grateful to Southside Community Land Trust for the opportunity to support the vital work they're doing to build a more equitable and accessible food system in Rhode Island.
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December 4, 2025 at 11:55 PM
We remain very grateful to Southside Community Land Trust for the opportunity to support the vital work they're doing to build a more equitable and accessible food system in Rhode Island.
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Union is recognized with a 2025 AIA Philadelphia Merit Award for Equitable Communities in the Historic Preservation / Adaptive Reuse Built Category! We are honored to be recognized by our peers in Philadelphia.
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December 4, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Union is recognized with a 2025 AIA Philadelphia Merit Award for Equitable Communities in the Historic Preservation / Adaptive Reuse Built Category! We are honored to be recognized by our peers in Philadelphia.
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“The Jury loved the connection and impact the preservation of this building had to the community. Not only is SCLT a wonderful and important organization, the architectural and urban response was impressive yet humble.” - AIA Philadelphia 2025 Design Award Jury
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December 4, 2025 at 11:55 PM
“The Jury loved the connection and impact the preservation of this building had to the community. Not only is SCLT a wonderful and important organization, the architectural and urban response was impressive yet humble.” - AIA Philadelphia 2025 Design Award Jury
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With gratitude for the people behind our work—those who make it possible and those who make it matter. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at UNION.
November 26, 2025 at 8:10 PM
With gratitude for the people behind our work—those who make it possible and those who make it matter. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at UNION.
Projects, people, progress and press - see what we've been up to! unionstudioarch.com/newsletter/q...
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Projects, people, progress and press - see what we've been up to! unionstudioarch.com/newsletter/q...
Eighteen of us from Union toured the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County renovation, seeing months of design work take shape—from new interior layouts to the preserved 1873 Thayer School facade.
November 4, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Eighteen of us from Union toured the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County renovation, seeing months of design work take shape—from new interior layouts to the preserved 1873 Thayer School facade.
ChatGPT said:
Tiverton Public Library is celebrating 10 years! 🎉
“Ten years on, our library remains the heart of the community Union Studio helped bring to life — a welcoming, functional, and lasting asset for Tiverton.”
— Catherine Damiani, Library Director
Tiverton Public Library is celebrating 10 years! 🎉
“Ten years on, our library remains the heart of the community Union Studio helped bring to life — a welcoming, functional, and lasting asset for Tiverton.”
— Catherine Damiani, Library Director
October 24, 2025 at 9:31 PM
ChatGPT said:
Tiverton Public Library is celebrating 10 years! 🎉
“Ten years on, our library remains the heart of the community Union Studio helped bring to life — a welcoming, functional, and lasting asset for Tiverton.”
— Catherine Damiani, Library Director
Tiverton Public Library is celebrating 10 years! 🎉
“Ten years on, our library remains the heart of the community Union Studio helped bring to life — a welcoming, functional, and lasting asset for Tiverton.”
— Catherine Damiani, Library Director
Welcome Esteban Salazar! 🎉
A first-gen Colombian American, Esteban brings a deep belief that housing shapes identity & community. With experience from Notre Dame to Berkeley, Rome to Pasadena, he’s dedicated to reimagining resilient, sustainable neighborhoods. Thrilled to have him at Union!
A first-gen Colombian American, Esteban brings a deep belief that housing shapes identity & community. With experience from Notre Dame to Berkeley, Rome to Pasadena, he’s dedicated to reimagining resilient, sustainable neighborhoods. Thrilled to have him at Union!
October 20, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Welcome Esteban Salazar! 🎉
A first-gen Colombian American, Esteban brings a deep belief that housing shapes identity & community. With experience from Notre Dame to Berkeley, Rome to Pasadena, he’s dedicated to reimagining resilient, sustainable neighborhoods. Thrilled to have him at Union!
A first-gen Colombian American, Esteban brings a deep belief that housing shapes identity & community. With experience from Notre Dame to Berkeley, Rome to Pasadena, he’s dedicated to reimagining resilient, sustainable neighborhoods. Thrilled to have him at Union!
"What's exciting about Veridian is the idea that we can offer a sustainable neighborhood that is also affordable. That we can do a net zero neighborhood in a cold climate, that we can do this and we can do this now."
- Ben Willis, Associate Principal & Director of Philadelphia office, UNION
- Ben Willis, Associate Principal & Director of Philadelphia office, UNION
September 26, 2025 at 7:57 PM
"What's exciting about Veridian is the idea that we can offer a sustainable neighborhood that is also affordable. That we can do a net zero neighborhood in a cold climate, that we can do this and we can do this now."
- Ben Willis, Associate Principal & Director of Philadelphia office, UNION
- Ben Willis, Associate Principal & Director of Philadelphia office, UNION
"Veridian represents what we... aspired to do - to bring all of our various missions and directives into one project. The placemaking, social vision, walkability, energy efficiency, sustainability, material palette - they all come to bear in this one project.
- Don Powers, Founding Partner, UNION
- Don Powers, Founding Partner, UNION
September 26, 2025 at 7:57 PM
"Veridian represents what we... aspired to do - to bring all of our various missions and directives into one project. The placemaking, social vision, walkability, energy efficiency, sustainability, material palette - they all come to bear in this one project.
- Don Powers, Founding Partner, UNION
- Don Powers, Founding Partner, UNION
And - the community extends sustainability beyond energy. Thirty percent of the landscape supports food production, while car-free paths connect residents to miles of wooded trails.
September 26, 2025 at 7:57 PM
And - the community extends sustainability beyond energy. Thirty percent of the landscape supports food production, while car-free paths connect residents to miles of wooded trails.
Veridian at County Farm is a 170-home mixed-income community that proves how ambitious sustainability goals and beautiful, authentic neighborhoods can coexist. Every residence runs entirely on solar and battery storage, regardless of income level.
September 26, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Veridian at County Farm is a 170-home mixed-income community that proves how ambitious sustainability goals and beautiful, authentic neighborhoods can coexist. Every residence runs entirely on solar and battery storage, regardless of income level.
In 2016, we joined Thrive Collaborative for a design charrette that would become Veridian at County Farm — now making headlines as one of America's first #netzero communities. We're thrilled to partner with Thrive, serving as master planner & architect for this groundbreaking development in Michigan
September 26, 2025 at 7:57 PM
In 2016, we joined Thrive Collaborative for a design charrette that would become Veridian at County Farm — now making headlines as one of America's first #netzero communities. We're thrilled to partner with Thrive, serving as master planner & architect for this groundbreaking development in Michigan
Welcome Scott Toth!
Scott brings design sensitivity, technical rigor, and environmental awareness to Union, with experience in affordable housing and historic preservation. Outside the studio, he’s often outdoors—backpacking, surfing, climbing—or making music. Thrilled to have him on the team!
Scott brings design sensitivity, technical rigor, and environmental awareness to Union, with experience in affordable housing and historic preservation. Outside the studio, he’s often outdoors—backpacking, surfing, climbing—or making music. Thrilled to have him on the team!
September 22, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Welcome Scott Toth!
Scott brings design sensitivity, technical rigor, and environmental awareness to Union, with experience in affordable housing and historic preservation. Outside the studio, he’s often outdoors—backpacking, surfing, climbing—or making music. Thrilled to have him on the team!
Scott brings design sensitivity, technical rigor, and environmental awareness to Union, with experience in affordable housing and historic preservation. Outside the studio, he’s often outdoors—backpacking, surfing, climbing—or making music. Thrilled to have him on the team!
“At UNION, our mission has always been to shape spaces of meaning and belonging... The Tanner House is a vessel of memory, a testament to Black brilliance and resilience... We are humbled to stand alongside The Friends of the Tanner House.” —Victoria Bryant, Union Studio
September 19, 2025 at 4:48 PM
“At UNION, our mission has always been to shape spaces of meaning and belonging... The Tanner House is a vessel of memory, a testament to Black brilliance and resilience... We are humbled to stand alongside The Friends of the Tanner House.” —Victoria Bryant, Union Studio
"Getting to Yes!" Our Managing Partner Douglas Kallfelz presents 25 years of attainable housing and community design wins at OneCape Summit tomorrow. You can catch his presentation at 1:15 PM as part of the afternoon plenary session. #OneCape #AttainableHousing #CapeCod #MA
September 16, 2025 at 4:39 PM
"Getting to Yes!" Our Managing Partner Douglas Kallfelz presents 25 years of attainable housing and community design wins at OneCape Summit tomorrow. You can catch his presentation at 1:15 PM as part of the afternoon plenary session. #OneCape #AttainableHousing #CapeCod #MA
2010 brought us the completion of something unprecedented – the first phase of what would become the first LEED-rated neighborhood of its kind in Washington state's Puget Sound.
#throwbackthursday
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August 28, 2025 at 6:00 PM
2010 brought us the completion of something unprecedented – the first phase of what would become the first LEED-rated neighborhood of its kind in Washington state's Puget Sound.
#throwbackthursday
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#throwbackthursday
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Launched: Union’s Guest Lecture Series
We kicked off with RI Historian Laureate Keith W. Stokes, who connected local African American history to national housing discrimination, revealing how centuries of policy still shape neighborhoods today. @keithstoke
We kicked off with RI Historian Laureate Keith W. Stokes, who connected local African American history to national housing discrimination, revealing how centuries of policy still shape neighborhoods today. @keithstoke
August 14, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Launched: Union’s Guest Lecture Series
We kicked off with RI Historian Laureate Keith W. Stokes, who connected local African American history to national housing discrimination, revealing how centuries of policy still shape neighborhoods today. @keithstoke
We kicked off with RI Historian Laureate Keith W. Stokes, who connected local African American history to national housing discrimination, revealing how centuries of policy still shape neighborhoods today. @keithstoke
"I had to take the picture, the view from inside the mill was so unexpectedly beautiful!" Taylor, an architect from our office captured this unexpectedly stunning view from inside the historic Daniel's Mill in Vernon, Connecticut's Rockville section... 🧵
August 8, 2025 at 6:17 PM
"I had to take the picture, the view from inside the mill was so unexpectedly beautiful!" Taylor, an architect from our office captured this unexpectedly stunning view from inside the historic Daniel's Mill in Vernon, Connecticut's Rockville section... 🧵
Union continues to show up with our commitment to empathy, equity, inclusion, and community. In this Q2 recap, we share how those values have taken shape in our work. We look forward to continuing that work alongside you.
Explore our Q2-2025 Newsletter —
unionstudioarch.com/newsletter/q...
Explore our Q2-2025 Newsletter —
unionstudioarch.com/newsletter/q...
July 21, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Union continues to show up with our commitment to empathy, equity, inclusion, and community. In this Q2 recap, we share how those values have taken shape in our work. We look forward to continuing that work alongside you.
Explore our Q2-2025 Newsletter —
unionstudioarch.com/newsletter/q...
Explore our Q2-2025 Newsletter —
unionstudioarch.com/newsletter/q...
Philly is at a critical juncture regarding housing. As costs rise and displacement pressures intensify, the city aims to construct and preserve 30,000 affordable homes within the next four years. Strategic preservation of existing affordable units is essential for protecting vulnerable residents.
July 7, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Philly is at a critical juncture regarding housing. As costs rise and displacement pressures intensify, the city aims to construct and preserve 30,000 affordable homes within the next four years. Strategic preservation of existing affordable units is essential for protecting vulnerable residents.
The most sustainable move isn't always the most obvious one. 🌿 2020 brought us this opportunity to help a local company plant deeper roots in their community while breathing new life into an existing structure. Sometimes the best design solution is the one that honors what's already there.
July 3, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The most sustainable move isn't always the most obvious one. 🌿 2020 brought us this opportunity to help a local company plant deeper roots in their community while breathing new life into an existing structure. Sometimes the best design solution is the one that honors what's already there.
The 39-unit building will provide affordable housing and community spaces for seniors who often face discrimination and isolation in senior housing.
June 27, 2025 at 8:04 PM
The 39-unit building will provide affordable housing and community spaces for seniors who often face discrimination and isolation in senior housing.