Denver Architecture Firm of the Week 7/21/08 - EVstudio

Last week I sat down with Sean O'Hara, principle architect in the Denver office of EVstudio and we discussed his firm and it's commitment to sustainable design. I was also very interested in the EVstudio Blog that Sean started back in May. It has extensive information about the process of architecture and it is growing into an invaluable resource for architects and clients that are interested in hiring an architect. I highly recommend a visit and look forward to seeing the future progress of EVstudio. The following is a summary of the firm supplied by Sean O'Hara.

EVstudio is an architecture and planning firm with offices in Evergreen and Denver, Colorado. EVstudio was recognized with the People's Choice Award at the 2008 AIA Colorado Young Architect's Awards Gala. The firm was established in 2006 and has quickly grown to seven staff with a variety of backgrounds and interests. In that time the firm's work includes custom residential, multi family, commercial office buildings, master planning, mixed use, retail, educational and hospitality. EVstudio's projects are designed with sustainability in mind whether or not they are pursuing a green rating. The firm plans to continue to grow as a collection of offices so that it can provide a future for ambitious architects and allow both clients and staff to minimize their driving distances.

The image above is Evergreen Terraces, a project that we anticipate will be LEED Silver. It is an office building that combines a mountain vernacular with an urban sensibility. It bring under building parking and elevator service to the first Class A office building in downtown Evergreen. On of the most interesting things is that the building was not originally planned with LEED in mind. The owner decided that a LEED rating could be a selling point for the tenants and asked about it after the building was already dried in. Thanks to EVstudio's general philosophy of designing sustainable buildings they were able to make a few minor tweaks and have the points necessary for an anticipated LEED Silver rating.

In addition to great architecture, EVstudio works to give back to the community. EVstudio's staff has organized the EverGreenDrinks events and the Natural Talent Design Competition in Colorado. The firm has donated time to the Montessori School of Evergreen and Mercy Housing Colorado. Staff members are also active in the American Institute of Architects, The Congress for the New Urbanism, the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce, the Stapleton Citizen's Advisory Board and have participated in many juries at the University of Colorado.

New Poll - What Industry Are You In?

To get a better idea of our readership, I've added a poll to the right. What kind of industry do you work for? Suggest other industries in the comments to this post please. Thanks for visiting Green Elevations.

Pecha Kucha Vol. 2 in Denver Next Monday

Pecha Kucha Night 20x20 returns to the Buntport Theater next Monday, July 14th.

See photos from Pecha Kucha Vol.1 via theartofwhere. designklub posts a flyer with a list of presenters.

Denver Architect Receives Gold LEED Certification for Fitness Center

Denver-based Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative has received gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for its design of the Washtenaw Community College Health & Fitness Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The fitness center, which opened in September, includes:
• Lights that turn on only when there’s not enough daylight.
• Non-toxic and renewable materials for the floors and carpet.
• A reflective white roof to reduce heat and cooling requirements.
• Pavement in the parking lot that allows rainwater to soak back naturally into the soil.
• Landscaping with plants that require little or no irrigation.
• Interior pool water that recycles with the aid of appropriate filtering systems.
• Recaptured heat with a central boiler unit.
• Temperature control with room-monitoring sensors for automatic adjustments.

Previous blog entry on OLC

via Margaret Jackson's The Real Deal Blog

AIAS FORUM 2008 in Denver

FORUM is the annual meeting of the AIAS and the global gathering of the architecture and design students. The event provides students with the opportunity to learn about important issues facing architectural education and the profession, to meet students, educators, and professionals with common interests, and to interact with some of today's leading architects through keynote addresses, tours, workshops and seminars.

This year's theme is energy, imagine that. Denver green architecture for students, I like it. More information to come - also, this video may cause seizures.

FORUM 2008 will be held in Denver, CO on December 29, 2008-January 1, 2009.

AIAS FORUM DENVER 2008

Boettcher Concert Hall Architect Selected

The Boettcher Concert Hall Architect Selection Committee chose Toronto based, Diamond and Schmitt Architects and their local partner, Oz Architecture, to lead the design of the symphony hall renovation and expansion project. Plans call for essentially gutting the building's interior and building a new concert hall inside and adding a 35,000-square-foot expansion on the Speer Boulevard side of the building.

via Cherry Creek News

Architecture Study Ranks Denver 8th

Denver ranked No. 8 on a list of top 10 U.S. cities for architecture and design based on citizen polls, according to a study by the RMJM Hillier architecture firm released Thursday, June 26th.

The winning markets, in order, were: Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Metro Denver's architectural highlights in recent years include the expansion of the Colorado Convention Center, architect Daniel Liebeskind's addition to the Denver Art Museum, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's LEED Gold regional headquarters in downtown Denver, and one of Colorado's first LEED Platinum buildings, the Signature Centre office building in Golden.

via Denver Business Journal