Gold Hard Hat Award

Outstanding Public Project

The 11-story Research Complex 2 officially joined the University of Colorado Denver Health Science Center’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora in June. The opening of RC2 completed UCDHSC’s move from its 9th and Colorado location to the Anschutz campus.

RC2 forms the western edge of the new research park and echoes the architectural vernacular of Research Complex 1 to the east. The building features a blue glass-and-aluminum curtain wall facing the courtyard, with a rose brick façade on the laboratory side.

The buildings are connected by two enclosed pedestrian bridges and—together with an outdoor courtyard—create a research quadrant. RC2 supports clinical and basic scientific research with laboratory configurations ranging from wet bench to more instrument-oriented tasks.

RC2’s efficient labs feature moveable casework and readily accessible support services in adjacent corridors, including particular gases and power systems. The specialized labs feature dark rooms and shields from radio frequencies and vibration; remote-monitored and controlled cool storage; a full-building UPS system to prevent power outages; a backup generator and wireless network system.

All major team members used building information modeling to streamline the construction process. Mortenson took the design team’s 3D models, increased the detail, enabled electronic transfer to fabrication and utilized collision detection.

The use of BIM resulted in extensive prefabrication, fewer requests for information and change orders and helped the project finish four months faster than RC1.

Research Complex 2
Aurora

Silver Hard Hat Award (tie)

Outstanding Public Project

When it opened in January, the new Erie Community Library was the newest branch library in the Weld Library District. The 29,900-sq-ft facility features a dramatic entry canopy of metal and heavy timber detailing, an outdoor patio and Peace Garden and a host of environmentally friendly elements designed to save the district thousands of dollars annually.

The stucco-and-brick building is organized around a linear spine that extends from the west entry to the east, organizing the library into specific areas devoted to adult collections, children’s activities, a teen area, media room and staff and support functions. This axis also creates a focal point for the entry and daylighting with clerestory windows that lead to the adult collection area.

The warm open interior includes a 1,000-sq-ft living room with a fireplace. The placement of exterior windows delineates functions within the building and maximizes the number of areas that receive indirect daylight. Sunshades along the south windows control solar heat gain.

Green design efforts were centered on mechanical, electrical and water-saving systems—including a raised floor with under-floor air distribution for greater comfort and quiet—that will perform at least 15% better than non-LEED buildings.

The library is expected to be 33% more efficient than a building minimally compliant with American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning standards. The district anticipates operational savings of approximately $10,000 a year.

Erie Community Library
Erie

Silver Hard Hat Award (tie)

Outstanding Public Project

Palmer Ridge High School is a new two-story, 217,000-sq-ft school is located on a 69-acre site in Monument. The $48-million school includes a state-of-the-art black box theater with a 725-seat auditorium, featuring music rehearsal/practice areas.

There is also a media center with a television production studio as well as administrative offices, a counseling center, career centers and severe-needs areas. Other key components include full and auxiliary gyms, a weight room, kitchen, a modern art area and student assembly areas.

Saunders and the Lewis Palmer School District built the high school to be sustainable in the spirit of LEED to minimize impact to the site. That includes daylighting controls, daylight harvesting, green roofs and the largest geothermal field in the state, with 200 holes, each 400 ft deep, spaced on a 20-ft by 20-ft grid, that efficiently provide the only source of heating and cooling for the building.

The project was completed in time for the 2008-09 school year.

Palmer Ridge High School
Monument

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