Denver is Green

According to both The Denver Business Journal and The Denver Post, Denver was ranked the 5th greenest major city in the US and Canada.  How did we get this status?  From the b-cycle program, to changing energy consumption habits to building sustainable buildings.  All facets of the community have come together to make this a great city to live and work in.

Colorado Foreclosures Down in May

A Denver Business Journal article citing figures from RealtyTrac shows that foreclosure filings in Colorado are down 13.5%. In fact, foreclosure rates around the country appear to be dropping with the largest decreases in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. This is particularly remarkable when considering the agressive development in Florida during the housing bubble. 


Enough said...except perhaps...yippee!

Venture Turned 5!

Venture Turned 5-

At the beginning of June Venture turned 5! Thank you to all of our wonderful clients, colleagues and friends who have been so supportive and given us such amazing projects to work on. We look forward to serving all of you for many more years to come!

Time out for fun in architecture.

When an architect couple I know recently bought a house they rated each structure on "zombie defensibility." I imagine my friend kneeling on the porch roof of her Denver Square in her Tsubo boots, sighting the approaching undead through her oblong-framed glasses, and pumping them full of lead with a sawed off. Evaluating the zombie defensibility of our drinking companions' abodes is a favorite happy hour pastime. A compact Tudor revival with narrow second story windows: excellent! A rambling Craftsman bungalow with mother in-law apartment: "Dude, they'd be in your basement before you'd know it." 

Enter the so-called "Zombie Proof House" or "Safe House" by Polish firm KWK Promes. It is replete with drawbridge, concrete slab shutters, and a steel roll up door protecting a modern expanse of glazing.

All kidding aside there is little doubt that environmental conditions influence the shape and function of the environments architects design. A March 2011 article from Architectural Record examined using design for both water management and as an integral element in structures. The devastation of Katrina has show that mechanical and structural means alone cannot protect coastal cities from rising sea levels. A Dutch firm aptly named Waterstudio has designed "watervillas" in Utrecht and a floating prison docked near Amsterdam. Their latest project of 60 half floating, half anchored residential buildings will be complete next year in the Netherlands. 

As destructive as urban flooding can be, living and working near bodies of water improves quality of life for people nearby. Venture Architecture has designed projects in Oklahoma City and Pueblo, Colorado integrating those city's canal systems as design elements.

As these projects illustrate, firms like Venture who practice smart design strategies, can offer protection from the most extreme situations inside spaces with immensely beautiful design aesthetics.

On virtual architecture...

Here in the office we have been discussing recently about how 3-D rendering software has made it easier to communicate our designs to both clients and contractors. In the past it may have been necessary to build foam core models to test lighting conditions, spatial relationships, or visual horizons. 

This recent editorial on the Architectural Record website shows that some people are considering the new digital fabrication to be a substitute for experiencing architecture in person. Most of us experience buildings from the exterior and never have the opportunity to move through soaring volumes or intimate spaces. I am on the Record's website weekly flipping through slide shows, comparing photos to plan view. As the editorial states there is no substitute for experiencing a building in person and the way it effects our senses: the somber cool interior of the Taj Mahal's mausoleum or the disorienting angles of the staircase at Liebskind's Denver Art Museum. 

Our clients appreciate the added information standing virtually in their new space affords them. While the construction process is always relatively fluid, now there can be little misunderstanding of how the finished space should look. Perhaps eventually we will just give 3-D renderings directly to contractors. With the advent of the iPad, the Venture Architecture portfolio is literally in our back pocket, or here, at your fingertips.

Housing markets in Denver look optimistic.

It's spring time in Denver and every day on my way to work I see signs that the warmer weather is encouraging construction. Whether home and business owners are improving existing structures or building from the ground up, there are pockets of regeneration around the city and that spells great news for our brothers and sisters in the design, property, and construction industries. This personal observation was further reinforced by articles in The Economist and The Denver Business Journal. 


The Economist reports that Colorado's unemployment rate is below the national rate and Denver experienced modest a modest increase in housing values, avoiding the bubble. The Denver Business Journal covered a survey from The Apartment Association of Metro Denver that shows the apartment vacancy rate continues to fall 6.5%. These two trends may indicate that Colorado residents are becoming more interested in not only buying houses or property and improving them immediately for use. 


Recent inquiries to our office confirm this to be true and our team here at Venture Architecture will use this space to keep you informed of new developments.

eWise transfers headquarters from Australia to Denver

An article in the Denver Post announced that our client eWise has moved their corporate headquarters to Denver. Venture Architecture was hired this winter to design their 7500 square foot office space in the Denver Tech Center. It is now nearing completion and we will be photographing the space later on this week. Stay tuned...