It’s that bitter sweet time in which we are pleased to see the completion of a project we have been working on for so long.  The “bitter” is that we no longer have that weekly interaction with the great clients you grow to have a great relationship with.  The “sweet” of course is to finally see the final built product of the design, and a tangible result for all the ideas that were considered (some thrown to the floor in the process) and others  integrated into the final designand  drawings.

There is quite a lot of buzz about the restaurant as you can read in online sources.  The examiner.com published an Introduction by Sarah Gerhart-Bryan.   The Westword set up a profile which has a number of appetizing photos of the doughnuts and pastries.   I stopped in last weekend to introduce the family to the restaurant ArcWest had been working on, and to try out a few of their gourmet doughnuts.  The family thought they were truly awesome!

View of upper seating area and bar at the Hole Bakery & Restaurant

All said, it is certainly a proud moment to see the commercial project complete and the business in operation.  We wish the Delmonico family all the best with their new business and hope “the hole” sells lots of doughnuts.

For more information about the project and to see a series before, during construction and after photos, please see ArcWest Architects “The Hole” commercial project page .

- Robin Adams

I thought? This sounds like a great opportunity to give something back to the community although I was a little nervous. There were three separate classes of 25 students that would rotate through my presentation and that of two other professionals; a veterinarian and a banker.

I decided the only way to make this fun for the students and keep their attention was to devise an interactive game. We used the school building as a demonstration architectural project. We made placards for each profession involved with the project.  In addition to the Architect of Record there are other architects, designers, marketers, engineer’s, estimators, contractors etc., 26 participants total.  We discussed each member’s tasks and assigned that task to an interested student until the entire team was assembled.

I had a great time, the 5^th graders were attentive, polite and I think they were genuinely surprised with how many professionals (jobs) it took to complete a project.

My goal for the presentation was to stress the fact that I enjoy my career and the people I get to work with.  None of this would be possible without a college education.

I hope to go back next year.

- Kevin Anderson

ArcWest

The owner’s  modish vision for the shop is multi faceted, serving the changing faces of the day as it transitions from morning to night.

There were many challenges when considering all the needs for the bakery with an ancillary restaurant function and ultimately plan how these would fit into the small existing space.  The foremost focus was to fulfill all equipment requirements to allow for a successful kitchen environment for the pastry chefs.  Other notable design challenges included:

• Providing accessible toilet facilities for the multi-level plan
• Integration of mechanical ventilation and plumbing requirements
• Structural modifications and additions in a turn of the century building to enable open seating areas.

Interior Seating Area under Construction

In addition to these engineering and design considerations, the project required specification for a 2 hour rated ceiling (occupancy separation) protecting the multiple uses of the building.  Apartment units exist on the second floor above the proposed bakery.  The mixed use required an approved UL Design rated assembly for fire protection.

ArcWest Architects is excited to witness the construction progress of the new bakery “the Hole” located on Tennyson Street.  The Lotus Group is providing the construction services.  The project is tentatively scheduled to be complete and open for business  this Summer, the first week in July.

For more information on how ArcWest can assist you, contact us directly at 303.455.7741 or through our website.

Taking it a step further, there are many people who own small business who travel the same path of completing by taking on many of the business infrastructure needs themselves.

Not a week passes by in which we do not receive a call from a prospective client , in some cases a contractor, who is budgeting a small addition, residential modification, tenant finish for a leased space, the opening of a new restaurant or looking to build their dream home. The questions posed to the architect usually follow this line: Have you done this type of project before? How much do you charge?  Or how much will it cost to complete?  As we attempt to frame up the actuality of what it takes to complete a building project without completely discouraging the interested caller, we will start discussing the process for reaching their goal.

Question: Do I really need an Architect?  Answer:  No and Yes!

First step – We have to establish the clients goals and understand what they really want & what they really need- with what they can afford. Our questions in response to the call from a prospective client may be something like:

• Have you established a budget for your project? (We’re hoping to find out what it costs first)
• Are you planning on doing this yourself or do you have a contractor on board? (not sure yet)
• When do you want to start? (hmmm…)  As architects we are searching to get a sense of where the  client is in the “process” and what the expectations are.

• Do you have a drawing or sketch on hand that illustrates what they want?  This is good!

If a project is anything other than adding a new awning, patio structure, replacement of an old piece of HVAC or plumbing equipment, more than likely you will need the services of an architect. At a minimum, the architect will guide you through the process and can ultimately provide documentation to the building department required for a (residential or commercial) building permit. The prospective client can do a substantial amount of the initial work making it simpler for the Architect and less expensive for the client  At some point, the architect needs to take the reigns of the project to drive the process towards the final goal.  The final target is to have the “vision” of the prospective client come to life (within budget) in built form “blessed” to be safe and sound by local governing agencies.

Reality Checks:

1. Building permits are required for new construction to insure the proposed building project will be safe and built to industry standards.  Completing a building project that is not permitted and inspected by the local regulatory agencies can set you up for problems down the road.  Resale of a property with nonconforming improvements can be very expensive in many ways.  You may have to correct the item prior to the transfer of the property and/or take a lower bid for the sale to compensate for the issue.
2. In the City and County of Denver, for instance, stamped (architectural) plans with framing and foundation engineered by a licensed professional are required for any major (residential) addition over 400 square feet
3. Building permits are required in order to insure the proposed building project will be safe to the occupants, future owners and guests, in addition to the safety and welfare of the adjacent properties and occupants.  Aesthetics aside, architects and engineers are licensed to assume the role to design and plan accordingly.

If you have any questions about a project you are considering or the process required to obtain a building permit, please contact us:

Directly by phone at: 303 455 7741

or email: radams@arcwestarchitects.com

Mentoring a high school student as part of his senior experience certainly has no clear association with the business of Commercial Architecture in the Denver area.  Nor does it provide a dash of new income to the company.   This said, it was truly a professionally enriching experience.

When approached to become a Mentor to a student from Westminster High School, a Denver metropolitan school,  it was somewhat unclear what that meant.  Would we just go about our business of Facility Architecture and Planning and allow him to shadow us?  Would we try to educate this senior student in the profession of architecture? Would we tour a selection of Commercial and Residential Architecture projects completed in the Denver Area?  The curriculum provided was unclear and unhelpful.  The direction was to provide experience in the chosen field of study, but left how that was to occur totally up to us … A couple of Architects with little or no experience in the education process.

What we found out is that we had more experience in education than we thought.  We had roughly 20 hours of face time as part of the curriculum.  With in short order of our first hesitant meeting with our young Architect, we started to cover the basics.

We covered the many long sleepless nights ahead for him while working in studio……

We discussed the starving artist nature of our business……

We even covered the bonds that academic hardship would foster and the parties that he might participate in……..

We very quickly moved on to what makes something architecture.  It is not Art.  It is not sculpture.  It is problem solving to create both Art and Sculpture that can be occupied.  Our Mentor grasped this immediately and filled in the rest of the curriculum by asking to be guided through the creation of his first piece of Architecture.  Every architect has contemplated his ideal house.  Few Architects actually design this enigma.  There is never enough money and we can never actually make a final decision on the final product.  By guiding our young Mentee through this process, we were afforded a learning experience ourselves as to what really goes into the design process.  We were not designing for another, we were guiding an uninitiated individual to the design process.

The process is at the core of what an architect is all about.  Some go through the process intuitively, skipping back and forth from phase to phase, without even realizing.  Some step through the process religiously not advancing from one phase to the next without completing the last.  Regardless there is a process and guiding someone through the process, fighting the urge to provide all the answers, illustrated how important the process is.

Exploration and Result of the Design Process

The sketch  above was completed entirely by our student.  It is understandably rough, but was completed after only 7 hours of background discussion 13 hours of numerous iterations.  It represents many of his personal own concepts of the ideal home and was completed using the same planning process used in the architectural profession.

Hopefully our student gained as much from his experience as his Mentor’s did.  In our environment of Commercial Architecture, Residential Design and Facility Planning, along with running the day to day business, sometimes a reminder of the core process is welcome.

- Todd Heirls

ArcWest Architects enjoyed the experience and would like to express our thanks to KaBOOM and the Sunnyside community for helping the vision of a new playground become a reality for the neighborhood.

Excited volunteers and kids in front of New Chaffee Park playground

Click KaBOOM for more information about the non-profit organization.

Street view of mixed-use project for NW Denver Neighborhood

As a step in the feasibility planning process, a due diligence exercise was completed to confirm the local Denver Zoning regulations.  Particular details included:

• Identify the Zoned District of the prospective site
• Validate allowable uses within the district
• Examine particular limitations and conditions for permitted use
• Understand the allowable building area and building height
• Review adjacent zoning districts for potential impact to the site
• Study the Bulk Plane standards applicable to the site
• Research applicable parking requirements

Other aspects of the feasibility and planning study included a site visit to confirm existing site conditions; arranging for a civil / property survey; preliminary review of the building code; and the diagrammatic layout for conceptual floor plans.  Finally the rendering above was generated for the owner to review and use for promotion of the project.

For more infromation, please contact ArcWest Architects.

Proposed Main Library Elevation on HWY 72

The project  will allow for the opportunity to propose a “green” building design practices that will incorporate sustainable features at the inception, such as:

• Sustainable Site Design
• Natural Daylighting
• Locally Sourced Materials
• Recycled Building Materials (High Recycle Content)
• Natural Ventilation and Cooling
• High Efficiency HVAC
• Solar Power
• Sustainable Irrigation Systems using “Gray” Water

Proposed Site and Building Plan

The Team at ArcWest Architects is very hopeful that our design will generate the level of interest that will allow for future discussions leading to our involvement with the project.  As the community of Nederland is  our “backyard”, we would be very excited at the opportunity to work with our mountain neighbor!

This section is under constuction and will be updated on an ongoing basis, so please check back soon to view other Residential project highlights!

- Robin Adams