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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2016

the support of an employer makes a huge difference to young

talent.”

The opportunities that abound for associates benefit cli-

ents as well, because everyone in the firm is a valued con-

tributor, which results in a better-received built project.

“We don’t separate design from execution,” Strohe says.

There are no designers in the firmwhose egos make them

challenging to work with. According to Nathan and Strohe,

clients value this because it means the ones who envisioned

and designed the project are also the ones who execute.

Nathan says this idea of continuous involvement is im-

portant to discerning developers. “The clients know whom

they’re working with, right from the start,” she says. “The

team that starts the project is the team who’ll work through

to occupancy.”

Johnson agrees. “We are able to be true partners to our

clients, with design solutions that create a ‘halo effect’ note-

worthy across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region,” he

says.

The son of a German architect and a cabinetmaker, Strohe

began his career as an intern architect with JG Johnson Ar-

chitects in 1999. Today, he looks on downtown Denver with a

combination of artistic pride and boyish wonder. Numerous

projects that he’s led have helped to revitalize and beautify

the city, and he’s grown along with it.

Current started as a bookkeeper with the firm more than

nine years ago, and recently was named a partner. He pro-

vides strategic direction to contracts and business develop-

ment. The Iowa native says he had no idea when he started

with Johnson that he would be walking the site of a new

hotel in downtown Denver almost a decade later, part of a

team that’s literally changing the landscape of the city.

While the team likes to spend time at The Crawford, as

most architects will tell you, their favorite project is always

the next one. In this case, the “next one” is the Maven Hotel,

part of the Dairy Block redevelopment between Blake and

Wazee streets. The project encompasses a full block at 18th

and 19th streets, comprises an eight-story hotel, a six-story

office building and underground parking that is scheduled

to be completed in February.

Nathan and McDonald are leading the design team of the

hotel project, creating beautiful and thoughtful details in

the guest rooms, and fashioning vibrant public areas. The

latter features a shared-use area on the first floor that serves

as a contiguous lobby for the hotel and office building. The

area is flooded with natural light and will be enlivened

with retail, restaurants and special events.

In the guest rooms, finishes like soft lighting and tile

stone mosaics in the bathrooms, and headboards that di-

vide a cozy room into living and sleeping areas add charm

and warmth to the former industrial site. Windows situated

at the end of each hallway offer light and views, and are an

appreciated and thoughtful design addition.

It is interesting to note that in the course of a two-hour

interview with the team, they spoke just as often about the

camaraderie and community feel of the firm as the projects

they’ve created together.

When asked what he is most proud of, Johnson doesn’t

hesitate. “The firm itself – because of the talent, values, ded-

ication, teamwork and diversity we’ve built.”

Because of the breadth and depth of talent of this team, it

is destined to be a second- and third-generation firm, and

will continue to sculpt pragmatic beauty from growing and

historic Colorado.

/ Pragmatic Beauty Enlivens Downtown Denver /

ABOVE LEFT:

Johnson Nathan Strohe's Tom Current, partner, and Liz McDonald, principal

ABOVE RIGHT:

Johnson Nathan Strohe partners Tobias Strohe, Nicole Nathan and Jim Johnson