The former 1950s Williamsburg Inn on downtown Golden’s Washington Street is being transformed into the A&A Treehouse, a sustainably designed and built office expansion for the architecture firm Andrews & Anderson Architects PC. As construction nears completion, the design team is completing LEED documentation through the U.S. Green Building Council, with a goal of gold certification.

The Williamsburg Inn’s shell was partially re-used to minimize site disturbance. A native Linden tree was protected and became a focal point of the landscaping. Retaining walls, pervious asphalt, underdrain systems and an underground dry well work together to collect excess water, direct it underground and filter it before it helps replenish the local aquifer.

With super-insulation, deep overhangs and an exterior, operable sliding sun shade, the building is well suited for Colorado’s temperature extremes. More than 50% of the project’s lumber is FSC certified, with most of the remaining lumber salvaged from the deconstructed building.

A series of ten 250-ft wells create the loop field for a ground-source heat pump system. These wells contain a series of pipes that use the constant temperature of the earth to reduce heating and cooling loads in the Treehouse. Combined with the super-insulated building envelope, this system should reduce energy usage by 40 to 50% from the norm.

The exterior is finished in standing-seam Rheinzink panels, Cemstone (stained, exterior concrete panels with high recycled content), brick, CMU and aluminum-clad windows. Interior finishes include recycled wood flooring and trim, sustainable, formaldehyde-free MDF cabinetry and a translucent grass wall panel that separates the conference room from the rest of the interior, allowing daylight to penetrate. Dual-flush toilets and a green roof serve as demonstrations of sustainable measures that are uncommon in the area.

A&A Treehouse
Golden

Silver Hard Hat Award

The new Gilpin County Transportation Facility is located just outside of Black Hawk on a woody 18-acre site. The facility features seven truck bays and one wash bay that has a closed recirculation system where trucks are cleaned with filtered water and biodegradable soaps. Construction began in March 2007 and was completed in September.

At 8,000 ft in elevation, the area around the facility is home to an abundance of wildlife, including a lynx seen on the jobsite, so the community leaders wanted a transportation facility that respected the beautiful mountain environment. 

State access to energy consultants allowed Gilpin County and The Neenan Co. to complete extensive energy modeling and observe payback and performance of sustainable options, including wind and solar power. The project team used three guiding principles in the decision-making process:

• We cannot assume that fossil fuels will always be available;
• We cannot ignore the health status of the forest;
• It is time to think long term and use the county’s revenues wisely, while we protect the natural environment.

• Biomass technology utilizes wood, a renewable energy alternative;
• Forest health is improved by thinning, and an ample supply of wood chips is available as a result of pine beetle infestation;
• Emissions from biomass create far less air pollution than wildfires, controlled burns and pile burning.

In addition, the 21,700-sq-ft building is daylit through north-facing clerestory windows with translucent glass that reduces glare and is shadowed by overhead equipment. Eight skylights and daylighting controls complete the daylighting scheme. An R30 white, EPDM roof with Energy Star coating reflects light for cooler temperatures in the summer.

Gilpin County Transportation Facility
Black Hawk

Bronze Hard Hat Award

Built on its existing campus, New Belgium Brewery’s 55,000-sq-ft Bottling and Packaging Hall is an example of the company’s continued commitment to the environment and sustainable living. The facility includes a just-in-time loading dock, trucking office and lounge, employee offices and locker rooms with showers, a break room, visitor observation balcony and mechanical and electrical support areas. The site development included an employee parking lot, 10 truck docks, open space and employee recreation areas. Beer is transported from the existing building to the Packaging Hall via an elevated pipe bridge. 

Shortly after stockpiling the existing topsoil at the beginning of construction, a permanent stormwater detention pond was constructed. This allowed Swinerton Builders to control any run-off and collect sedimentation. Local erosion requirements met the EPA regulations and were a part of the construction and permitting documents. 

The roof of the new building includes a high-reflectance TPO roof system, and the roof’s structural load was designed to support a future photovoltaic array. The local public utility provided consulting throughout the project and assisted with a grant to support the brewery’s goal of applying integrated design on the project.

A baseline energy model using packaged rooftop units determined the relative efficiency of the selected HVAC system. A direct/indirect evaporative cooling system with a multi-stage gas furnace was selected.   

Low-emitting materials were used. Increased ventilation comes from a displacement ventilation system with two air changes per hour. Skylights and light tubes were installed to provide daylighting and reduce electrical lighting loads. Operable windows were strategically placed at the perimeter of the office area for comfort and better line-of-site views. Additionally, the landscaping uses xeriscape principles and native vegetation.

New Belgium Brewery Packaging Hall
Fort Collins

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