MARCH 2016 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \
75
A Rubik’s Cube
of complex design
and engineering
feats packages
big building in
small site for
DIA’s new
Westin Hotel
and Transit
Center
F
romthe outside, thenotionof real
estate development is generally
seen as a straightforward equa-
tion of risk and reward. Those
willing to assume the largest of
risks lead the line for the greatest
rewards and behind them builders, archi-
tects, engineers, subcontractors, material
suppliers and myriad others eagerly cue
up in a revenue chain led by the daring
few who see prosperous potential on every
corner. On the inside, however, the equa-
tion isn’t quite so simple. The prospect, for
example, of envisioning and then actually
developing an attractive, efficient, leasable,
LEED Gold commercial office space that
hits the market in stride with desire tends
to be many years in the making.
Take the corner of 13th and Walnut in
Boulder, where a new 63,000-square-foot
commercial office property known as the
Wencel Building stands today. Outwardly,
theWencel Building is a sleek composition
of traditional and contemporary materials
– solid red-brick massing with classic ac-
cents tied together by a dynamic modern-
ist central link in glass and metal. Much
like the primary equation in real estate it-
self, the Wencel Building is deceptive in its
simplicity and within lies a far more elab-
orate and compelling story.
“Success in commercial real estate tends
to be the long game,” cheerfully reflects
Jeff Wingert, a partner with W.W. Reyn-
olds Cos., the proud owners of the Wen-
cel Building and quite a few other strong
build-and-lease developments in Boulder.
“The visioning plan for the Wencel Build-
ing stretches back to late 2007,” continues
WORDS:
Sean O’Keefe
A new Boulder
office building
combines
contextual
embrace and
innovation
to re ult in
dynamically
animated
space
