We are extremely excited to be able to announce another project that we've been hard at work on in Honolulu! We have begun having community meetings and are in the process of developing the project further with a potential hotel operator. 

From our project narrative: 

1500 Kapiolani Boulevard is located in urbanized Honolulu, along a tree-lined boulevard which links downtown with Waikiki. The site is within a recently designated transit oriented district, which raises the allowable FAR to 10.0 in order to increase walkability and discourage automobile dependency.

In this context, our client asked us to design an iconic 400 foot tower (the height ceiling) combining street-oriented retail, a four star hotel and complementary housing, with the goal of capitalizing on views over and around existing buildings in all directions. 

Our solution focuses on a simple massing and an iconic form befitting the prestige of Kapiolani Boulevard, distinctly visible from Kahnamoku Lagoon, the Ala Moana Mall, and other areas of the city.  We created two separate small-footprint towers—allowing the overall mass to be oriented Mauka-Makai (Mountains-to-Ocean as desired by island residents) preserving view corridors and breeze patterns. For residents, the two-tower scheme maximizes views and cross-ventilation, as well as value: all eight units per typical level are corner units.

The central design move was to maximize usable common and private open space and create actively programmed spaces on multiple datums, culminating in a lushly-landscaped sky garden bridge/platform for building residents at 350’ in the air, indexing the city’s previous height limit. This sky garden metaphorically replaces a ground level context lost when Oahu urbanized and reconnects the site to the horizon

Hawaii’s mild climate and pleasant breezes are woven into the scheme at every turn with the goal of dissolving the barrier between conditioned and exterior space. At higher floors, breezes are mitigated with appropriately placed massing. This is evident at the hotel floors which link the towers, creating a natural wind eddy at the podium, and at the sky garden, where building mass and landscape elements shield the gathering spaces.

Open space/green space is a central focus on vertical and horizontal surfaces in our solution. In fact, as shown in the image above, the cumulative horizontal intensive and extensive open space is nearly 2.3 times the site area and is complemented with additional vertical gardens on multiple surfaces.

This project is scheduled to begin construction in late 2017.

More information is available at the project's page.  We are hard at work continuing the design process and we will continue to post updates, so keep an eye on the blog!

[au]workshop architects+urbanists has just been selected to design new offices, volunteer work spaces, a central kitchen and warehouses for the Food Bank for Larimer County.  The new facilities will be located in an as-yet-to-be-announced location. 

We are more than pleased to be able to provide architectural services for this fine organization whose mission is to provide food to all in need through community partnerships and hunger relief programs.

The Food Bank for Larimer County believes no one should be hungry and their dream is to deliver health, hope and humanity to stabilize the lives of their clients and build a vibrant community. They are a private non-profit organization and the only Feeding America clearinghouse for donated food in the county.  Each year, the Food Bank for Larimer County provides food to nearly 36,000 people in need through community partnerships and hunger-relief programs.  Visit their website for more information. 

We're excited! EmQuartier and the rest of the Em District have been featured in New Design Retail Thailand, an English-language compendium of "recently-completed high-end shopping mall[s], department store[s], hypermarkets, [...] from Li Zenn Publishing" 

The book contains some wonderful photographs and drawings of the projects. Check out a preview on Issuu, or order a copy on the publisher's website here for 1400.00 Baht (about $40). Don't forget to see our own EmQuartier page for more information. 

It's always nice to see our work out in the world!

View fullsize

The site has been cleared and the ground broken! We're very excited to see the project progress! Learn more about the Desiderio Homes (and their awesome site at the base of the Colorado Street bridge in Pasadena) here. To donate to or volunteer for the project, visit the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity. 

He's actually been here for awhile, but we're proud to announce that Spencer Lindstrom, one of our designers, has successfully completed the Intern Development Program and the Architectural Registration Examinations, and is now officially a licensed architect in the State of Colorado. 

Spencer had this to say:

"I can't say how grateful I am for [au]workshop's support and guidance through this process. I'm excited to continue learning and making great places with them!"

We're excited too, and wish him a hearty congratulations.

We've been working on a design for this site in Honolulu for months, so we're pleased that it's finally public. The project application has been accepted by the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting and it is well along in the entitlement process.  The hotel operator is expected to be announced within a few weeks.

From our project narrative: 

Mana’olana Place | Luxury Hotel and Residences will be an instrumental catalyst in the continued revitalization of the Ala Moana Neighborhood.  The tower will include ground level retail spaces, a 125-room five-star luxury hotel and approximately 109 branded condominiums culminating in a signature restaurant and bar 400 feet above the adjacent street level.

The Mana’olana Place tower is envisioned as a modern, vertical interpretation of an indoor-outdoor sense of place and connection to the landscape embodied in the concept of lanai.  Our vision for its character began with the warm and soft tones of a wooden building softened with landscape from ground to the uppermost levels.  Terraces and balconies provide deeply shaded areas and views from these lanai frame views and create pleasant contrast and variety.  Design details will reflect a modern interpretation of a tropical environment mixed with subtle Asian influences. And at every step, gardens are woven into nearly every front-of-house experience.

When complete, the 36 story tower will represent the first implemented project in the newly adopted Ala Moana Transit-Oriented District.  With a floor area ratio of 10:1 in anticipation of the planned light rail-serviced neighborhood already anchored with the Hawaii Convention Center immediately across the street and the largest mall in the state —Ala Moana Center—located within a five minute walk, Mana’olana Place will catalyze an already diverse and active Honolulu neighborhood and will become a unique and recognizable interpretation of the tropical high-rise typology.

More information about the project is available at its page. This is only one of several projects we're working on in Hawaii, so keep an eye out for more to come!

Out standing in the field at Crozier Mountain.

We believe it's important to take a step back from time to time; gain a little distance, re-evaluate. With that in mind, we whisked the office up to Glen Haven for a 24 hour whirlwind of spirited discussion, goal-setting, and bonding. We accomplished a lot, but we'll leave ourselves a little more time next year.

In the meantime, back to work!

We're proud to be a part of AIA Colorado's Architecture Month 2016! Check out our office tour below and see more at their facebook page or website.  

As part of the series, which celebrates architecture and the people who make it, Randy and Jason were also interviewed about their interests and responsibilities:

AIA Colorado: Why did you decided to become an architect?

Randy:  As a little kid, I lived in a house and neighborhood in Germany that always had some kind of construction in progress and I liked hanging around the workers while they made places.  I started drawing houses and constructing elaborate Lego buildings around the age of eight so I guess I have been on course for about 42 years!  I still play with Lego…

Jason: My father and grandfather were constructors; because of this I had a different view of buildings as a child. For me, buildings were about people coming together to create something that didn’t exist before. Architecture is the first step in that process and is where I found my passion.

What is a typical day like for you? Run us through your day-to-day responsibilities and “to-do” lists.

Randy:  Make breakfast for my wife and sons, find work, listen to our clients, make sure we do the work the best we can, sketch, erase, sketch, run along the Poudre River, write, call, critique, eat dinner with my family, read, sleep, start over.

How you find inspiration for your projects? 

Randy:  Place drives everything. I can’t imagine a solution until I understand the site, the climate, the user. 

What are the biggest challenges you face throughout a project?

Jason: Communication. Whether it is communicating with colleagues, clients or contractors, Architecture is about communicating ideas.

What do you enjoy most about being an architect?

Randy: Every day brings new challenges and no project is ever the same so there is a constant need to learn and grow.

Jason: It is never boring.

What has been your favorite project to work on?

Randy:  The next one that comes in the door.

Jason: We have recently been working on a couple of 400’ tower projects in Hawaii that are quite fun.

What is your favorite building in Fort Collins? In Colorado?

Randy: In Fort Collins, the Ranchway Feeds building—it is all muscle and no pretention built over a hundred years.  In Colorado, Balcony House at Mesa Verde: a great view, a water source and a railing.

Jason: Danforth Chapel at CSU.

How do you spend your free time?

Randy: I love introducing my boys to new experiences and places.

Jason: Traveling with family, fly fishing and spending time at the family cabin.

We love to show off the space, so don't be intimidated by the rat-rod exterior and come visit us at 405 Linden Street!

[au]workshop architects+urbanists, the American Institute of Architects Colorado North 2015 Firm of the Year, has promoted  three professionals who are helping design a growing portfolio of projects in northern Colorado, California, Hawaii and internationally.

“These promotions recognize the growing responsibilities of our dedicated and talented architects and designers as we continue to grow into new markets and increased project scale,” said [au]workshop’s Design Principal Randy Shortridge, AIA, LEED AP.

Promotions include: Brian Betsill, AIA, LEED AP (Senior Associate), Arlo Schumann, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP (Associate) and Spencer Lindstrom, Assoc. AIA (Associate).

Betsill is a project manager with more than ten years of experience on academic, civic, residential and commercial projects. Schumann, who has over 14 years of professional experience, is a project architect responsible for the execution of [au]workshop residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects. Lindstrom, an architectural intern who recently received his Master of Architecture degree from Rice University, is involved in most of the firm’s varied design work.

“Each of these guys have been key to our growth and wellbeing and we are proud to have them as part of our team,” added Jason Kersley, AIA, LEED AP, [au]workshop’s Managing Principal.

Please feel free to visit our leadership page for more information on our team.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Happy 2016 to all of our wonderful clients, collaborators, and friends. We just want to say "Thank You!" for your continued patronage and support. It was a wonderful surprise to be named the AIA Colorado North Firm of the Year in 2015, and we look forward to creating lots of beautiful things with you in the year to come!

[au]workshop is very surprised to announce that we have been named the 2015 AIA Colorado North Firm of the Year!

At a ceremony last night in a building designed by firm members, [au]workshop architects+urbanists was announced as the award recipient as selected by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Colorado North Board of Directors.  The Firm of the Year recognizes an AIA-member firm that has contributed to the profession and has set an example in design, service and leadership to AIA Colorado North, a region that includes Boulder, Greeley and Fort Collins.

View fullsize

The presentation was made at Loveland’s Rialto Theater Center—a building designed by Brian Betsill and Randy Shortridge while with a previous firm.  The award is particularly gratifying as [au]workshop, founded in Fort Collins by Shortridge and Jason Kersley, has only been in operation since 2013-- less than three years.

Currently designing projects in Northern Colorado, Southern California, Hawaii and Thailand, [au]workshop creates quality, authentic architecture and catalytic urban, civic and commercial projects with a focus on projects that sustainably invigorate neighborhoods and cities. 

We're pleased to announce that our much-belabored (and beloved) building sign was selected as the 2015 winner of the Urban Fragments category of the Fort Collins Urban Design Awards!

The "Urban Fragments" category was defined as "a single, small-scale piece of a building or landscape that contributes significantly to the quality of the public realm." In our submittal, we discussed the sign's subtle scale and materiality, it's sustainable features, strategies for graceful aging, and it's presence as an urban object and catalyst for the River District's continued renewal.

You can read more about the design and construction process at the project page and the original blog post.

Accolades are always rewarding, and although we enjoyed the process tremendously, it's also nice to know that other people like the end result as much as we do. 

Thank you Fort Collins!