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February 18-March 3, 2015 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — Page 37
Construction, Design & Engineering News
by Jennifer Hayes
Tenant finish construction firm
Max Construction Inc. recently
completed the renovation of a
historic space at 1550 Wynkoop
St. in downtown Denver for
Shears Adkins Rockmore Archi-
tects.
In addition to serving as archi-
tect on the project, the two-floor,
5,474-square-foot space is Shears
Adkins Rockmore’s new home.
Max Construction’s goal as
contractor on the project was to
marry the historic elements of
the space with Shears Adkins
Rockmore’s cutting-edge design
aesthetic, the firm noted. The
building was originally finished
in 1898 along with the rest of the
15th-16th Street block in a series
of interconnected buildings. Dur-
ing the process of completing
structural work, the teammade a
discovery that ultimately would
enhance the design of the space.
“During demolition we uncov-
ered steel beams that were
installed in the building very
early on,” saidDean Smith, archi-
tect with Shears Adkins Rock-
more. “The beams are made of
large angles and plates, which
are riveted together. This struc-
ture was consistent with the new
steel elements we had already
designed for the space. Despite
the challenges to bringing the old
beams up to fire code, the team
at Max Construction was able
to quickly adapt and deliver the
project on our original timeline.”
In addition to the steel beams,
Max Construction was able to
keep much of the original heavy
timbers, flagstone foundation
and original brick, which helped
the space retain the character of
the original design.
“We see this space as the
perfect blend of nostalgia and
forward-thinking,” said Mark
McGann, vice president at Max
Construction. “Abig part of what
makes LoDo so special is the
unique architecture of these his-
toric buildings, so the Max Con-
struction teamdid everything we
could to respect the building’s
past while incorporating mod-
ern features that reflect Shears
Adkins Rockmore’s focus on
innovative design.”
Some of that modernization
included significant structural
work to remove sections of the
first floor to allow natural light
into the basement level. Addi-
tionally, a two-stage “floating”
staircase from the first floor to the
basement level was added to cre-
ate a new access point. Max Con-
struction completed the work in
10 weeks. s
Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects’ new space was designed to marry the historic elements of the space with the firm’s “cutting-edge” design aesthetic.
The two-floor, 5,474-square-foot space features much of the building’s original heavy timber and brick.