WESTFIELD OFFICES, BRIGHTON BOULEVARD
Provided: Site Planning + Architecture + Interior Design + General Contracting
Location: Denver, CO
Completed: Spring 2018
Brighton Boulevard has been a central artery of the River North neighborhood of Denver for over a century. An economic and industrial hub, the thoroughfare connects the downtown to I-70. As any such vein running through industrialization for decades on end, the character of the neighborhood had fallen into disrepair. Recently, the city of Denver worked with developers to revitalize the boulevard to its former glory in new and modern ways.
Westfield Development Corporation, a real estate developer based in Denver, approached Tres Birds to design and build the company’s offices. With future development projects lining the boulevard, it was essential to the Westfield group to place themselves in the middle of the action — before it even began. tres birds came on as the master planner, full service architect, interior designer, and contractor.
The project was the reclamation of a 10,000 square foot 1940s warehouse. The intention was to maintain the structural integrity and beauty of the original building; to build a home for Westfield that allowed them to share their vision for the corridor; to lasso the embodied energy already in the building; and to make something brand new out of something old.
But before building something new must come the destruction of the old. This demolition was atypical, however, in that is was meticulous process in order to keep the original materials in tact and useful during removal. The structural wood beams were removed / repurposed, and the roughly 15,000 bricks were saved in the disassembly, and the team’s “free time” was spent processing and cleaning the materials.
In constructing the new two story building, the barrel vaulted shape of the old warehouse was kept, though reinterpreted with engineered wood products. The materials used to keep the space warm and natural: Raw plywood, exposed joists, and structural steel beams were all rolled into the profile. Pieces of the 1940s construction were sandblasted, oiled, and left raw as a highlight of its historic quality.
Saving an existing building is often one of the most sustainable practices an architecture and construction company can do as compared to demolishing an existing building and building a new building in its place. The embodied energy necessary to take a building down, haul it away, and replace it with all new materials and labor can be counterproductive. Translucent glass, a unique glazing process, and exposed interior brick walls all increased the thermal value of the building.
The roof was torn off, reconstructed and reimagined as working space. Opening the usable space up as a roof deck, the team at Westfield can show their clients, rather than explain, Brighton’s invaluable location. The view sets the stage for opportunity: to one side downtown Denver sits in close proximity and to the other the Rocky Mountains head west. The first trees planted in front of the office set the stage for what’s to come to the corridor.
Location: Denver, CO
Completed: Spring 2018
Brighton Boulevard has been a central artery of the River North neighborhood of Denver for over a century. An economic and industrial hub, the thoroughfare connects the downtown to I-70. As any such vein running through industrialization for decades on end, the character of the neighborhood had fallen into disrepair. Recently, the city of Denver worked with developers to revitalize the boulevard to its former glory in new and modern ways.
Westfield Development Corporation, a real estate developer based in Denver, approached Tres Birds to design and build the company’s offices. With future development projects lining the boulevard, it was essential to the Westfield group to place themselves in the middle of the action — before it even began. tres birds came on as the master planner, full service architect, interior designer, and contractor.
The project was the reclamation of a 10,000 square foot 1940s warehouse. The intention was to maintain the structural integrity and beauty of the original building; to build a home for Westfield that allowed them to share their vision for the corridor; to lasso the embodied energy already in the building; and to make something brand new out of something old.
But before building something new must come the destruction of the old. This demolition was atypical, however, in that is was meticulous process in order to keep the original materials in tact and useful during removal. The structural wood beams were removed / repurposed, and the roughly 15,000 bricks were saved in the disassembly, and the team’s “free time” was spent processing and cleaning the materials.
In constructing the new two story building, the barrel vaulted shape of the old warehouse was kept, though reinterpreted with engineered wood products. The materials used to keep the space warm and natural: Raw plywood, exposed joists, and structural steel beams were all rolled into the profile. Pieces of the 1940s construction were sandblasted, oiled, and left raw as a highlight of its historic quality.
Saving an existing building is often one of the most sustainable practices an architecture and construction company can do as compared to demolishing an existing building and building a new building in its place. The embodied energy necessary to take a building down, haul it away, and replace it with all new materials and labor can be counterproductive. Translucent glass, a unique glazing process, and exposed interior brick walls all increased the thermal value of the building.
The roof was torn off, reconstructed and reimagined as working space. Opening the usable space up as a roof deck, the team at Westfield can show their clients, rather than explain, Brighton’s invaluable location. The view sets the stage for opportunity: to one side downtown Denver sits in close proximity and to the other the Rocky Mountains head west. The first trees planted in front of the office set the stage for what’s to come to the corridor.
