CREJ - Building Dialogue - September 2017
sea·son ‘sez?n/ noun, each of the four divisions of the year marked by particular weather patterns and daylight hours change change ‘CHanj/ verb, make or become different Can you feel it in the air? An unusually cool August seems tailor-made for Colorado State University football fans, who were treated to the Rams season kickoff Aug. 26 in their new $220 million, 41,000-seat venue. Built by Mortenson and designed by Populous, the stadium will host not only home football games, but also day-to-day events for CSU. The new building marks a return to the on-campus stadium after nearly 50 years off site. Described by one CSU fan, it’s the best stadium in America, and it’s our cover story. Fall brings with it not only football season, but also a return to school. To that end, OZ Architecture writes about maker spaces in schools from K-12 to higher education, while Hord Coplan Macht looks at best practices school design for high performance and health. And TreanorHL highlights its work for Meadow Ridge Elementary School in our Inside & Out(side) feature. When it comes to the office, Kieding highlights the “homey” trend in design while Populous creates its new downtown Denver digs with connectivity to its surroundings in mind. As for hospitality, Johnson Nathan Strohe designed Boulder’s dual-branded Hilton hotels, Embassy Suites and Hilton Garden Inn, within walking distance of Folsum Field and downtown Boulder. And a long-stalled project in Vail, the Lion (formerly the Lionshead Inn), is roaring to life thanks to PCL Construction and OZ Architecture. Residential construction continues at a steady clip. In this issue, Norris Design outlines the Midtown redevelopment, which appeals not only to millennials purchasing their first homes, but also to baby boomers who are downsizing. Alliance Construction Solutions spotlights its affordable Hidden Lake Homes project in Westminster. Finally, GE Johnson celebrated 50 years in business in 2017, building diverse projects along the way, such as the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, U.S. Olympic Training Center and One DTC. Jim Johnson reflects on the firm’s evolution. Signs of development, design and construction are everywhere. Columnist Brad Buchanan speaks to the newly passed Safe Occupancy Program while Andre Baros looks at design close-up as well as from the long view. As always, your projects and ideas are what keep the dialogue interesting, so please keep them coming. Kris Oppermann Stern Publisher & Editor kostern@crej.com