Boulderspace

For the third year in a row, College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) students at the University of Colorado Denver have won four of the top five awards in the United States Green Building Council’s Natural Building Competition for the Western Region. The winning teams will have the opportunity to compete at the national level at the Green Build 2008 International Conference and Expo in November in Boston.

The students created their designs in the Advanced Green Building Studio under the direction of Fred Andreas, AIA, LEED AP, Assistant Professor Adjunct of Architecture. On the first-place winning team were Bill Turner (M.Arch 2008), Jill Reilly (M.Arch 2008), and Anya Litvinova (Liberal Arts student). Second place was won by Michele Williams and Tina Alberico (M.Arch students); fourth place by Abe Jayson (M.Arch 2008) and Levi Hyland (M.Arch student), while Alissa Wilson (M.Arch 2008) and Jennifer Vlasak (M.Arch 2008) took fifth place.

Over the upcoming week, Boulderspace will explore these winning designs. We will kick off with the first-place winning team’s design by Bill Turner, Jill Reilly, and Anya Litvinova.

Alliance Center Headquarters Building - Historic Lower Downtown Denver

The project is proposed for LEED CI, with materials and furniture selected to be sustainable and health. The interior would be used to showcase products and finishes for the education of visitors. The mixed-use format, capitalizes on retail and restaurant space on the ground level. The Alliance Center Headquarters offices are located on the ground floor to be accessible and serve as a welcoming center for the non-profit center. The BikeStop is located in the retail space adjacent to the street for convenient access. Storage and locker rooms for the BikeStop are located below grade. Automated parking is located below grade, the system allows fo a reduction of required space for parking and does not require lighting,ventilation, or egress- thus reducing required energy and resources. The project is proposed to allow for a redcution in the number of required automobile parking spaces because of it proximity to the Union Station transit hub and the BikeStop Station. Tenant car sharing and electric car parking is provided.

Primary Design Goals

• THE ALLIANCE CENTER has an ethos assembled around the UNIFYING idea of COLLABORATION; this is the keystone idiom that informs the project design.
• The Alliance Center is the epicenter of many relevant social, economic and environmental movements, thus the building engages the idea of PERMEABILITY, a place the welcomes all and engages many.
• The Wynkoop Street Historic District is the last remaining collection of historic warehouses in Denver, its adjacency to the soon to be redeveloped Union Station Transit Hub, makes it of particular import to develop a façade that respects the CONTEXT of the Wynkoop street scape while embracing the energy of a revitalized boulevard.
• Develop a design that creates added value for the client, tenants, LoDo, Denver and Colorado.
• A building that serves as a template for other historic redevelopment and re-urbanizaton.

Design Process
The multi-disciplinary team, which included two architecture students, one interior design student, and an urban design student, began with a thorough investigation of the context and history of the site and Lower Downtown District. Through an understanding of the Alliance Center Mission and Goals a composition of design goals were revealed. The multi-tiered design goals were merged into an integrated design collage:

• An urban design street-scape plan that fosters energy and occupation of space by a diverse user group
• An architectural design of the façade that embraces the virtues of the Lower Downtown fabric while sensitively presenting itself as a building of our time.
• Promote the mixed-use model. Retail space that includes a BIKE STOP and GRANOLA CAFÉ at the street level. Office and conference space above. Automated parking system below.
• An interior design that promotes collaboration and cross pollination of varied non-profit organizations. Materials, Finishes, and furnishings are of low impact sustainable materials that are VOC free.
• A thoughtfully designed building system that capitalizes on passive design strategies, geo-thermally coupled heating and cooling, and natural lighting.
• Strive for ZNE and ZNC via passive ventilation, operable windows, Fiber optic general lighting, LED task lighting, building management plan for plug-loads, and geo-thermal heat pump for heating and cooling. Supplemental energy will be provided by roof top PV panels and off-site wind power.

For more details on this project, click on their team competition boards:

• Board #1
• Board #2

Links:

• CAP Students Win Green Building Awards
• United States Green Building Council
• Alliance Center - Denver, Colorado

Tags: Abe Jayson, Alissa Wilson, Alliance Center Headquarters Building - Historic Lower, Anya Litvinova, Bill Turner, Boston, Denver, Fred Andrea, Green Build 2008 International Conference and Expo, Jennifer Vlasak, Jill Reilly, Levi Hyland, Michele Williams, Tina Alberico, United States Green Building Council’s Natural Building, university of colorado