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.

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

Unique Bell Tower Proposed to Stradle Cherry Creek at Larimer

Fentress Architects, designers of DIA and the Convention Center in Denver, has unveiled new designs for an architecturally significant and prominent addition to the lower Denver skyline. Kudos to the large open space proportioning of the site, almost %65 private and public open space + %23 creek = 12.2% building footprint. I like the idea presented here with the contrasting building styles, a traditional small office commercial building against the jutting balconies on the residential tower which will be sure to bring out some love and hate. The plaza layout is especially appealing to me with it's creek access and creek-side patio, it's another bright spot to add to the Cherry Creek bike trail downtown.

via Rocky Mountain News and see the slideshow of illustrations

LaN-IN-FLIGHT Will Depart from Denver July 11th

Book now, deadline is 6/11. Anyone wanna sponsor me?

Boulder locals Monika Wittig and Luis E. Fraguada with James Coleman and Shane Salisbury recently won the DIA/DOCA Emerging Artist Program competition with their entry [Wind]ow Seat. As a result of the commission, the group is setting up a traveling seminar called LaN-IN-FLIGHT which will depart from Denver to LA, then to NYC, Boston then back to Denver from July 9th-18th. The seminar will focus on digital fabrication and the output will be published and presented in August at the LaN's [Wind]ow Seat exhibition. 10 days of traveling to cutting edge design firms and industry leaders including Ball-Nogues Studio, Contour Crafting, SCI-ARC, Commonwealth, REX, and others, looks like a lot of Rhino sessions in airport lounges.

This is a great concept and I'm sure will help inform the final exhibition, but why no seminars or visits in Denver itself?

From their site - "A Live Architecture Network is under the direction of 4 designers who landed in Barcelona to pursue postgraduate studies in Digital Tectonics at IAAC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia) and following have taken-off on the path of DIGITAL FABRICATION as a means to forwarding composite processes /collaborations driving architectural development. LaN recognizes the power of digital fabrication, not merely as a toolset of of a high technical caliber, but as the driver of particular groupings of resources–an organization of human, economic, and material assets–varying widely based on project circumstances. LaN’s mode of operation is parametric in nature, and seeks to with re-associate architecture with a flexible, non-authoritative, temporal, & data-rich practice of spatial design."

Photo Credit from LaB ,the Live Architecture Network's Blogsite.

16th Street Mall - Keep the Granite and the Trees, lose the Teletubbies

"Where else in the United States does this exist?" asked Paul Chapel, a principal with BOKA Powell Architects, in Dallas. "A mile of granite carpet woven by hand. It's a work of art."

"Those beautiful granite pavers, set so that they look like the back of a rattlesnake, are inspired, a hallmark of a mixed transit and pedestrian mall designed by Henry Cobb, a partner of I.M. Pei, whose name was dropped liberally during the presentation."

"Honor the original design and its civic significance to Denver," ...that includes uncluttering the sidewalks; old pictures of the mall show understated planters and other accessories. "Those Teletubby planters and wastebaskets have to go," said Brown of the numerous newly (and brightly) painted planters and wastebaskets.

Lots of discussion of the recent Mall meetings at the DenverInfill Blog: The Future of the 16th Street Mall

via Rocky Mountain News

Photo Credit :: denver.gov

Film and Design Series at Starz FilmCenter

Wednesday, May 21 - 7:00pm - Starz Filmcenter
Film and Design Series : Not the Usual Suspects
Featuring the films Kochuu and Louis I Kahn: An Offering To Architecture
Sponsored by AIA Denver

Denver Justice Center Awarded LEED Silver

The Post Office/Parking Garage located in the new Denver Justice Center complex has received a final SILVER LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, rating from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

"Denver Public Works and our partners, AR7 Architects and Haselden Construction LLC, prioritized environmental stewardship as an integral part of the design and construction process of the Justice Center Post Office/Parking Garage," said City Engineer Lesley Thomas. "Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all three of the structures on the Justice Center campus are appealing, engaging, functional and sustainable."

via Government Technology
Photo credit: Denver Justice Center

4240 Architecture Names Six Associate Principals

On the eve of its fifth anniversary, 4240 Architecture, Inc., an award-winning architecture, interior and urban planning firm with studios in Chicago and Denver, has promoted six Senior Associates to Associate Principals.

"This is the next generation of leadership for our fast-growing firm, which does site-specific design work on a global scale," explained Peter H. Dominick, Jr., FAIA and 4240 Architecture President. "While each individual is a star in his or her own right, the promotions are not about individuals, but about creating a great team that will dovetail with our marketing and business strategies -- each member contributing the right mix of innovation, creativity, and leadership as we move into the future."

via PRWEB

Denver Architecture Firm of the Week 5/14/08 4240 Architecture

Image from 4240 Architecture Website : Riverfront Park

4240 Architecture Inc. is an award-winning national design firm doing site-specific work on a global scale. Based in Denver and Chicago, we offer services in architecture, planning and design, renovation and adaptive re-use, interior and landscape design. We are committed to a collaborative design process that intimately involves our clients, and that involves deep research on each project to help us understand its needs and goals. We are known for our leadership, innovation and creativity, technical expertise, and our management process.
· A proven track record of delivering complex projects on time and on budget, facilitating a smooth and timely process when multiple approval parties are involved;
· The ability to integrate the cultural, environmental, and lifestyle character of the locale;
· Coordination of the smallest details for staging, phasing and meeting design and community guidelines needs;
· A strong portfolio of preservation and urban re-use and infill;
· The ability to reveal new possibilities, and be strong players in developing project marketability through better design;
· And a familiarity and working knowledge of unique environmental requirements such as seasonal construction microclimate constraints, and the natural forces of sun, sea, snow and wind.

4240 Architecture, Inc., is an industry leader in the design of buildings that exceed expectations in terms of economics, social equity, and environmental sustainability. We excel at identifying strategies that work together in a whole-building approach to achieve more than any one system alone – the building struggles less to perform better. The firm is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, and has nine LEED™ Accredited Professionals on staff. LEED™ Accredited Professionals go through rigorous training to reach an advanced understanding of design strategies that enhance performance in every phase of a project, from initial site selection and orientation to programming, massing, systems design, materials selection, construction, close-out and follow-up.

Info via 4240 Architecture Inc. website

Denver Union Station Project Meeting on Thursday

The Union Station Advocates are hosting an update on the Union Station Project in Denver this Thursday, all interested citizens are invited. Some of the agenda items include a overall project update, a video project with Havey Productions, CU Denver College of Architecture and Planning studio wrap up, a planning/branding exercise and discussion, and a post meeting happy hour.

Thursday, May 15th 4 - 5:30pm at the Oxford Hotel, Theatre Room, $10 at the door, hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be served with a cash bar for the post meeting happy hour in the Cruise Room. See this link for agenda and RSVP info.

Arcspace Article on the Clyfford Still Museum

Arcspace article here, with previously unseen plans and site plans, looks a lot closer to the DAM HAM than I thought it would be, I think I'm going to like the stark juxtaposition.

Past posts on the CSM here, here, and here.

And if you are in Portland tonight check out the Cloepfil-Gragg interview where the architect Brad Cloepfil may discuss the project.

Photovoltaics, Wind Turbines and Art Infuse Colorado Development at Belmar

From the AIArchitect This Week newsletter this past week, an article about the recent Belmar development project":

"Developer Continuum Partners decided instead to reduce their impact by recycling most of the content of the former Villa Italia Mall on the site and incorporating an array of sustainable strategies, including a 1.7 Mw solar array and a small-scale urban wind farm." On the parking lot lampposts! great idea. "To reduce the ecological strain that results from the development’s annual energy use, Belmar is currently in the process of installing an array of 8,370 photovoltaic panels. The panels will be installed on three parking garages, including the natural foods store, and will measure 125,000 square feet total."

Also, check out the Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar, "part museum, part public forum". They will reopen on May 22 for a new exhibit called "Silent Films and Bedroom Paintings". Lakewood is getting hot! Another great video from Charles Carpenter below.


The LAB, belmar from Charles R. Carpenter on Vimeo

1800 Larimer is Pre-Certified LEED CS Platinum

1800 Larimer is pre-certified LEED CS Platinum. Designed by architecture firm RNL Design, this 22 story, 500,000 sqft office building will be the new headquarters of Xcel Energy when it opens in the summer of 2010. Westfield Development Company, who is developing the project, will also house it's offices here and the building is already about 75% leased. This will be the first high rise building in the central business district of Denver to be built in the last 20 years, so it appears that progress is moving quickly in Denver! The building's location in the heart of Lower Downtown Denver is an ideal sustainable site with it's easy access to mass transit via the downtown circulator.

According to their website, some of their LEED highlights include restoring 77% of their non-footprint site to native or adaptive vegetation. A 17,000 sqft landscaped terrace will attach the side of the building off of the second floor lobby. Waterless urinals and other water saving features will adorn the fancy bathrooms and I'm sure the water wall feature in the main lobby will recycle it's water as well.
An innovative under floor ventilation system will provide more fresh air and better energy efficiency. It's relationship with Xcel Energy will be strong and green with a four year contract for 35% of core and shell power to come from from WindSource®. It's materials will comprise of 20% recycled content in core and shell materials, 20% locally obtained materials, and FSC Certified wood doors. I'm interested to know what the outer shell window design configuration is based on, Tetris?

1800 Larimer Website Also, check out their sales movie

Fontius Building Facelift is Looking Up

Fontius Building Detail Photo by Ken at Infill Blog

Back in January, developer Evan Makovsky received an important approval for new, energy efficient windows on the north and east side of the Fontius Building at the corner of the 16th Street Mall and Welton Street. In late April, workers began hanging large windows that will pivot just as the original ones did. Makovsky had to get permission from the Landmark Preservation Commission to replace the originals. Without the $1 million energy-efficient windows, the project would not have moved forward.

The terra-cotta exterior has also been restored on the upper floors, which from the 16th Street Mall reveals a handsome building that had been hidden for decades under dirt and disrepair. An artist has been hired to mold 9 tons of clay by hand the way craftsmen did in the 1920s to restore the terra-cotta exterior of the bottom floors for the Renaissance Revival-style building design by Merrill Hoyt, brother of famous architect Burnham Hoyt. The current restoration is being undertaken by architect Brian Klipp and the construction company Milender White Construction Co.

The exterior work is expected to be complete in time for the Democratic National Convention in August when a "Mega Tent" will soar 50 feet high behind the building. The tent, called "The Peak" is in the process of being erected and when completed (by June 1st), will lend 20,000 feet of space to host concerts, banquets, and trade shows. Should be quite a sight (site).

Rocky Mountain News - Ugly Duckling

Denver Biz Journal - Mega Tent

DenverInfill Blog: Block 162 Update

Building Buildings at Denvergence

Check out this Denver vlog I found recently, it has a number of artistically created videos all based around Denver.

building buildings from Charles R. Carpenter on Vimeo. Denvergence

Denver Architecture Firm of the Week 5/1/08 OZ Architecture

Pictured : Welton Place : OZ Architecture

OZ Architecture is the largest architecture firm in Colorado and among the 50 largest in the US . It was honored as recently as 2005 as the AIA Northern Colorado Firm of the Year. From their website- "OZ Architecture was created in 1989 through a partnership between two long-established Colorado firms. This unique concept brought together staff with varied expertise and client bases, creating a firm with the talent, people-power and experience in a broad range of project types, to set a new standard in design excellence and commitment to service. Currently, with a full time staff of over 200 employees representing nearly twenty different nationalities, OZ Architecture brings a dynamic synergy of capability and capacity to your project, proving that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of the parts."

The image above is an example of a LEED certified project that OZ Architecture has designed. "Located at the edge of Denver's Welton Historic District, Welton Place is a mixed-use urban infill project close to the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library that OZ Architecture also designed. The building design pays homage to the heritage of the neighborhood through its use of masonry at the street level and echoes the vibrancy of the area's inhabitants with a contemporary residential tower rising above. Welton Place is a pioneering sustainable/LEED designed mixed-use project. Sustainable building features include storm water management, lightrail access and high performance glass and roof materials." From their website.

OZ Architecture is selected for a major urban planning project in Rawanda.

OZ Architecture