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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / JUNE 2015
/ Renovating at Fairmount, Where Denver’s Historic Elite Reside /
on Quebec Street, its main entrance, much
more welcoming. So they launched a capital
campaign for amajor renovation and expan-
sion.
Matt McHugh, lead design architect and
partner at Sprocket Design-Build, says his
big challenge was to update and expand the
mid-century modern mortuary and office
building within its pastoral setting, while
paying homage to the site’s historical roots.
His approach was to add new elements
to the interior and “bring the site up to the
building” to enhance the entrance. The firm
added clean, modern elements to the inte-
riors and used the same natural wood that
was utilized in the existing space. Two large
skylights (both 8 feet by 8 feet) and a curtain
wall on the offices accomplish this effect
while maintaining the warmth of the orig-
inal design. McHugh also added a raised roof
with a clear second story to the north entry.
“I wanted to build on what was there, but
make it more uplifting by bringing in more
light,” he said. “The resulting interior re-
spondsmore effectively to the true size of the
space and the numbers of people who use it.”
Sprocket is partnering with CPRA Studio
on the project. CPRA provides landscape ar-
chitecture and master planning services for
cemetery clients around the world, including
Denver’s Fairmount and its “sister-cemetery,”
Riverside.
“Perhaps the two most significant chal-
lenges we faced were to fit the varied im-
provements into the busiest area of the
cemetery, and to provide them in attractive,
contemporary design styles that would be
appealing to the families Fairmount serves,”
said Doug Flin, president of CPRA.
The firm has worked with Fairmount on
several proposed cemetery improvements,
including a new cremation garden, as well as
studies for a mixed-use garden near the Ivy
Chapel. The current renovation also entails
three new mausoleum buildings, designed
by CPRA Studio
“We had to balance the placement of new
burial options with the major renovation of
the funeral home, and related circulation
and landscape improvements,” Flin said. “All
of this had to be accomplished within the
busy core area of the cemetery, near both of
the primary entrances.”
CPRA worked with Fairmount Cemetery
President Kelly Briggs to “establish a vision
that would set the tone for the next 125 years,”
Flin said.
While Père Lachaise still has a steady
stream of visitors after more than 330
years, Denver’s Fairmount continues to at-
tract families on movie nights, couples for
live music concerts and runners on sunny
afternoons, when the shady grounds offer
respite from the Colorado sun. The new
facilities and landscaping will allow the
cemetery to keep providing a gracious site
for all of those activities and more, as well
continue to offer the serene space it’s al-
ways provided for the less “active” activity
of remembering loved ones.
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Renderings by Sprocket
Design-Build
PREVIOUS PAGE:
Comfortable and
inviting interior spaces
will provide places for
families and friends
to gather and share
memories and plan
funeral arrangements.
ABOVE:
Fairmount’s renovation
efforts are focused
primarily around
creating a new venue
for Fairmount that
accommodates a variety
of family and life
celebration events.
PROJECT TEAM
Sprocket Design-Build
CPRA Studio