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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2014
/ The Triangle Building: Inspired by Past and Future /
The triangular designmakes for a job that’s
anything but routine, said Street. Because of
the building’s shape, the construction crew
has had to get creative. “The configuration
creates reach problems for the cranes on the
corners,” he explained.
The increasingly busy urban location
hasn’t made things any easier, Street added.
“This one’s more challenging because of the
amount of traffic on Wewatta. It’s a main
thoroughfare now.”
Road closures need to be choreographed,
especially considering the fact that deliveries
can’t come in via the 16th Street Mall. “It’s a
dance and it’s all day long,” said Street.
When it’s finished, the shape is going to
make for one of the most dramatic buildings
in Denver, not to mention the materials. The
all-glass facade – a unitized curtainwall – was
manufactured in Dallas, shipped to Denver
and installed on the building in November.
Kennedy commended the “stunning archi-
tecture” by AndersonMason Dale.
The respect is mutual, said the firm’s Gra-
ham in his appraisal of Saunders. “Their in-
timacy working in tighter sites, bringing in
materials from the interstate and getting
subs parked, is important,” he explained, also
touting the preconstruction work. “They were
really good with the pricing numbers for the
owner. That’s a real compliment to them.”
Patty Yanker of Denver-based BuildMark
Project Management, the representative for
theownershipgroupofAvon, Colo.-basedEast
West Partners and Starwood Capital Group of
Greenwich, Conn., said Saunders was the right
contractor for the job for reasons beyond its
experience in LoDo.
“They’re flexible and they manage proac-
tively,” said Yanker. “They’re always on the of-
fensive, looking forward. They’re not reactive
after the fact.”
Yanker praised Saunders’ ability to stay on
schedule, which was a necessity when dewa-
tering the Triangle Building’s below-grade
levels provedmore difficult than anticipated.
Saunders caught up via “selective and focused
overtime,” she said.
Thanks to the curtain wall and the struc-
ture’s shape, the Triangle Building will have
20 percent more window offices than a tra-
ditional building – including four corner of-
fices on the three-sided building, thanks to
a “pleat” on Wewatta Street – and superlative
daylighting. “I think that the corner offices
are going to be the best ones,” said Street. “The
views will be certainly 180 degrees andmaybe
even go a little bit further.”
The location means that the building
needs to be a conduit to pedestrian traffic.
Kennedy calls it “a gateway” from the 16th
Street Mall to Union Station. “We have a pass-
through courtyard we’re going to build called
Wewatta Plaza,” he said.
Added Street: “The feng shui of it, it’s going
to very inviting.”
When the project is complete in spring
2015, the target is LEED Gold certification. To
this end, Saunders is using regional steel and
cement and recycling steel, wood and gyp-
sum on-site.
Kennedy said that all parties involved –
AndersonMason Dale, East West, and the city
and county of Denver – have been great to
work with on the project. “There’s a sense of
cooperation down here,” he said.
Street said that the helpful attitude extend-
ed to the general contractors on other proj-
ects in the Union Station area. “It’s unique to
have that level of cooperation,” he noted.
Saunders vacated Wewatta Street on Sept.
26 to allow Holland Partners to bring in a
crane, reciprocating after Holland’s crew fixed
a fence that fell to the winds when Saunders’
peopleweren’t on site. Saunders also supplied
Kiewit with some surplus granite when the
latter contractor’s crew was in need at Union
Station.
“That kind of goodwill goes a longway,” said
Street.
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PREVIOUS PAGE:
An aerial view of the
Triangle Building site,
which will become a
Union Station neighbor-
hood landmark.
Anderson Mason Dale
Architects
ABOVE LEFT:
Saunders Construction is
the general contractor for
the Triangle Building, a
10-story project that will
have 20 percent more
window offices than a
traditional building.
Anderson Mason Dale
Architects
ABOVE RIGHT:
Saunders Construction
broke ground on the Tri-
angle Building in January.
Completion is slated for
next June.
