Three Denver Architectural Firms Relocate Offices/Mortenson Wins Pharmaceutical Research Center Project/GE Johnson Completes Aspen Middle School

Three notable Denver design firms have recently moved their offices to larger, more sustainable facilities in Denver.

4240 Architecture Relocates to RiNo

4240 Architecture Inc. has moved its Denver offices, along with its team of 70 professionals, to a former brick-and-steel foundry building in the River North District. With the move, 4240 nearly doubles the size of its office space, from 8,600 sq ft to 14,200 sq ft.

Hutton Ford Architects Changes Name, Relocates

Denver’s Hutton Ford Architects has become Hutton Architecture Studio. Under the leadership of Paul Hutton, the firm will continue to focus on designing environments for learning and promote sustainability in architecture.

The firm has also relocated to a new space in the Broadway corridor at 70 Broadway, Suite 300, Denver.

Ware Malcomb Relocates Within Greenwood Village

Because of the steady growth of its Denver office, Ware Malcomb relocated to the Greenwood Corporate Plaza Building 6 in August.

The company provided full interior architecture and design for its new 4,169-sq-ft office space, located on the first floor of an existing three-story office building owned and managed by Means-Knaus Partners of Denver.

The new space includes a reception area, two conference rooms, open offices, a break room and work and library areas. Murray & Stafford Inc. of Denver was the general contractor for the project.

Mortenson Selected as CM/GC for Pharmaceutical Research Center

Denver’s M.A. Mortenson Construction will build the new $31-million Pharmaceutical Research Center for the University of Colorado Denver and Health Sciences Center at the Anschutz Medical Campus. The project will include a 105,000-sq-ft research and administrative facility with research laboratories and lab support space.

Mortenson is also building two other projects at the campus, the $201-million Research Complex 2 and the Health Sciences Library.

AR7 Architects Awarded Major University Project

Denver-based AR7 Architects recently announced it will design four new residence halls to serve the growing University of Arizona campus in Tucson.

The approximately $185-million project is reportedly one of the largest projects on the campus, with the buildings scheduled for completion by the 2010-11 school year. Each hall will house about 300 first-year students and vary in height from three to six stories. The project, named Sixth Street Residence Halls, will be, at minimum, LEED-silver certified. It marks the second residential-life project for AR7 at the campus, the first being Highland District Housing, which provides about 800 beds.

GE Johnson Celebrates Aspen Middle School; Wins Walnut, Maroon Five Project Awards

GE Johnson Construction Co. of Colorado Springs recently hosted the grand opening of the $29-million, three-story, 112,000-sq-ft Aspen Middle School. The project included the construction of a new middle school around the existing school and is targeting LEED certification.

Key sustainable strategies for the new middle school are daylighting, high-efficiency electric lighting, multi-story form and high-performance glazing. Other sustainable features include reflective roofing, waterless urinals, low-maintenance concrete floors and linoleum.

The architects are Hutton Ford Architects of Denver and Studio B Architects of Aspen.

GE Johnson was also selected by MCV Walnut Investments to provide CM/GC services for The Walnut, at Walnut and 17th streets near Pearl Street, in Boulder. The project, designed by OZ Architecture, consists of 34 luxury condominium units with heated underground parking. It is anticipated that The Walnut will be the first LEED-certified, residential-only building in Boulder. Construction on the $18-million project is scheduled to be complete in December 2008.
GE Johnson was also selected as the CM/GC for the new Maroon Five Office Building in The Meridian Office Complex near I-25 and Lincoln Avenue. GE Johnson will be responsible to select design-build mechanical and electrical firms to join in the project design. The project is programmed for 90,000 sq ft, including a parking structure in half of the building’s lower level.

DTC/Shea Properties is the owner and Michael Barber Architecture is the architect.

A&P Opens West Ridge Elementary in Brighton

Adolfson & Peterson Construction of Aurora celebrated the opening of Brighton School District 27J’s West Ridge Elementary School on Sept. 8.

Many school board and community members attended the opening, which included a barbecue lunch, tours of the new facility and a dedication of the school. A&P broke ground on the new facility on Dec. 12, 2006, and opened the doors for students on Sept. 4.

Colorado Springs-based RTA Architects designed the $11.3-million project.

MW Golden Completes Two Institutional Projects

MW GOLDEN CONSTRUCTORS of Castle Rock recently completed the Jamaica Elementary School HVAC upgrades and repairs to Aurora Central High School for the Aurora Public Schools.

Jamaica Elementary School HVAC repairs, a $1.7-million project, involved significant mechanical and electrical upgrades to the existing school, along with additional work replacing exterior glass along the building. The $1.3-million repairs on Aurora Central High School began in April 2007 and were completed in August.