BA's New Office Earns LEED Certification/Design Short List Named for Denver Justice Center/Martin-Martin Honored for Military Support

Boulder Associates' new office in the historic Citizens National Bank on the Pearl Street Mall has been named the first in the nation to receive LEED Commercial Interiors v2 certification, earning a gold rating.

Boulder Associates Updates Offices

Recycled blue jean material, ceiling tiles, pickle barrels and sunflower seed hulls all contributed to Boulder Associates' recognition as the first project in Colorado to receive a national sustainable design award for commercial office space.

The 22-year-old national health care architecture firm's new office was also the first in the nation to receive LEED Commercial Interiors v2 certification, garnering a gold rating for its environmentally and employee-friendly offices.

Boulder Associates moved into the historic Citizens National Bank Building on Boulder's Pearl Street pedestrian mall. The firm protected and restored the historic value of the space while updating it to be a model of sustainability in terms of material choices, daylighting, energy and water efficiency, recycling and indoor air quality.

DTJ's Garden Crossing Wins Builder's Choice

Boulder's DTJ Design Inc. received the Builder's Choice Grand Award for Garden Crossing, a Peak Properties development. Sponsored by Builder magazine, the award honors Garden Crossing's innovative design and focus on affordability for townhomes under 2,000 sq ft.

Denver Narrows List of Justice Center Architects

Denver city officials asked 10 firms in October to submit proposals in the competition to design the new Denver Justice Center.

Nineteen teams submitted qualifications for the project, which consists of a courthouse, detention center and parking garage located in Denver's Civic Center and renovation of the existing county jail on Smith Road.

Finalists for the courthouse design include two Pritzker Architecture Prize winners - Sir Norman Foster of Foster & Partners in London, and Richard Meier of Richard Meier & Partners Architects in New York.
Also in the running are Kallmann McKinnell & Wood, and Koetter Kim & Associates, both of Boston; Steven Holl Architects, New York; and Robert A.M. Stern Architects, New York, in association with Denver's 4240 Architects. Stern was a finalist in 1990 in the competition for the Denver Central Library.

Finalists for the detention center facility are Hartman-Cox Architects, Washington, D.C.; Ten Arquitectos, New York, in association with Denver's RNL Design and Durrant; Valerio Dewalt Train Associates Inc., Chicago; and St. Louis' HOK, designers of Denver's Alfred A. Arraj U.S. District Courthouse.

Denver's David Owen Tryba Architects is the master urban design architect for the project. Barber Architecture, also of Denver, will design the post office and parking garage structure.

Denver voters authorized $378 million for the Denver Justice Center in May. The project will be funded by general obligation bonds issued by the city.

Kumar & Associates Relocates Colorado Springs Office

This fall Kumar & Associates Inc. moved its Colorado Springs office to a new facility at 6735 Kumar Heights. The new facility, which expands the firm's office and laboratory space, was specifically designed for the testing performed by the firm.

Martin/Martin Honored for Its Military Support

Martin/Martin Inc. Consulting Engineers in Lakewood was recently recognized for its support of National Guard and Army Reserve employees.

The firm received the Above and Beyond Award, which honors employers that do more than is required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Civil Principal Duane Jansen, PE, received the Patriotic Employer Award Certificate and lapel pin in recognition for practicing personnel policies and procedures that supported employee Andre Schlappe, PE, who participated in Guard and Reserve activities in Iraq.

Front Range Precast Receives Environmental Achievement Award

Front Range Precast Concrete received an outstanding service award from the Colorado Environmental Health Association. Presented at CEHA's annual educational conference, the Environmental Achievement in Industry Award recognizes the company's commitment to producing and promoting quality watertight septic tanks and wastewater systems throughout the state.

Monroe & Newell Relocates to Frisco

The Summit County office of Monroe & Newell Engineers Inc. has moved from Dillon to Frisco.

The firm's new street address is 619 Main St., Suite 7. The mailing address is P.O. Box 295, Frisco, 80443. The telephone numbers are 970-668-3776 and 970-668-3789.

McStain Neighborhoods Receives 2005 Builder of the Year Award

Broomfield-based developer and homebuilder McStain Neighborhoods recently received the Colorado Association of Homebuilders' Builder of the Year award. The honor recognizes a company's significant contributions within the building industry, including outstanding performance in innovative marketing, design, new product creation, green building, unique development, as well as contributions to CAHB.

DRG Construction Will Host Annual Food Basket Program

DRG Construction Corp. will again spearhead a Christmas food basket program to provide low-income households with the ingredients for a complete Christmas dinner.
Food baskets are made possible through donations from individuals and corporations throughout Colorado. Last year, more than 750 needy Colorado families received food and toys through the program. A projected 900-plus families will receive them this year.

To become a program sponsor, contact Diedra Garcia, vice president of DRG Construction at dgarcia@drgconstruction.com or 303-274-7716.

Hensel Phelps Honored for Outstanding Safety

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. in Greeley was one of six companies recognized by the American Society of Concrete Contractors with a Best Safety Achievement Award for contractors with the lowest incident rate. The awards were presented this fall during ASCC's fourth annual conference, held this year in Westminster.

CTL Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Glenwood Springs Office

CTL/Thompson's Glenwood Springs office celebrated its 20th anniversary this fall.
Founded in Denver in 1971, the firm has nine branches throughout Colorado, Texas and Wyoming.

The Glenwood Springs office has participated in more than $250 million worth of construction and infrastructure improvements on Colorado's Western Slope. Its first project was the highway through Glenwood Canyon, the final piece of I-70 nationwide.

Schmidt Construction Wins Diamond Award

Schmidt Construction recently received a Diamond Achievement Commendation from the National Asphalt Pavement Association for its Plant 3 Castle Rock and Plant 1 Delta Yard in Colorado Springs. The commendation recognizes excellence in environmental practices of hot-mix asphalt production facilities. For more information on the Diamond Achievement, contact NAPA at 303-HOT-MIXX.

Mortenson Donates Services to DU's Bridge Project

M. A. Mortenson Co. will donate design-build services to convert a South Denver apartment unit into an after-school computer facility for the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work's Bridge Project.

The general contractor will join eight local subcontractors in building the new facility.
The other project members include Allied Floor Services, Collins Door and Hardware, Commercial Design Inc., Design Electric Contractors, Horizon Glass, New World Cabinets, Performance Fabrication and Southland Industries.

The Bridge Project offers tutoring and scholarships to children who live in the Denver Housing Authority apartment complex and the surrounding neighborhood.

Denver's H+L Named 2005 'Hot Firm'

Management consulting and research firm ZweigWhite ranked Denver-based H+L Architecture No. 7 on its list of the 100 fastest-growing architecture firms in the United States for its annual ranking, The Zweig Letter Hot Firm List.

H+L Architecture grew in revenue more than $16.5 million from 2001 to 2004, or 184 percent.

LOA Architects Awarded Arvada West Design

Denver's Luis O. Acosta PC Architects was awarded the design of Phase II replacement/site redevelopment of Arvada West High School in Arvada. The firm also designed the Phase I West Wing addition of Arvada West, completed in 2003, for Jefferson County Public Schools.

The new 162,000-gross-sq-ft building, which replaces the original school, will provide Arvada West with new auxiliary and main gymnasiums with locker rooms, an auditorium, music rooms, administration offices, cafeteria and commons area, kitchen, and core classrooms for math, English, special education, arts and wood technology.

The design will be completed in the spring of 2006 and the competitive bid process for a general contractor will take place next summer. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2006 and conclude during summer 2008. Students will start classes in the new facility in fall 2008.