Brian Betsill just sent us this message:

Greetings from the [au]outpost in Lund, Sweden. I am spending six months in this Nordic neighborhood while my wife does research with a group at Lund University as part of her sabbatical. Thanks to the partners at [au]workshop for granting me the opportunity to take this time to work away from the office.

So the new ‘office’ is in the heart of a Scandinavian university town. And in many ways Lund is like our hometown of Fort Collins. It is of similar size (if you count the student population). It has a similar vibe and energy based on the comings-and-goings of the university students: loud(er) and later passersby on the sidewalk on the weekends, a bustling outside the coffee shop-cum-evening bar with the cheapest beer in town, gyms crowded with very fit 20-year olds. And there are numerous fast food establishments, albeit more of the kebab/falafel/pizza slice variety than the burger-and-fries type.

At the same time it is a very different town than the fort by the river. Lund is medieval—a 10th century church settlement centered around a grand cathedral. In 1104 it was established as the archbishopric of Denmark (it subsequently changed hands and became part of Sweden) and became the center of Christianity throughout the Nordic countries. Parts of the wall that separated the town from the masses are still present. The streets are cobbled, and narrow, and winding; far different than our regular, repeating and unending Jeffersonian grid.

The sun and the seemingly always pleasant weather of Colorado are two things certainly missed. Being as far north as the Hudson Bay the days are very short this time of year; A sun fully risen by nine is gone before four. As opposed to the constantly changing weather and temperatures back home, monitoring weather is unnecessary; it is invariably +1ºC and heavily overcast. The Swedes say that it will be nice come May! 

But differences aside, what I enjoy about this medieval cathedral town is the circuitous streets that beg exploring and the best way to do this is on foot.  It is rewarding to spend time mid-day (the lighted hours) wandering lanes and passages and finding yourself self in a small courtyard with a little café, taking the opportunity for fika, a Swedish coffee break with breads and sweets. It is the scale of the urban fabric, the streets and squares, that is so inviting.  The streets were originally footpaths so they have a meandering quality, and they are scaled for the pedestrian not the automobile. The squares were designed to accommodate the citizens of a small town, not a auto-centric city; they are carved out of the fabric as opposed to plunked in the middle of it. It is these quaint qualities that I look forward to exploring in the coming months and hopefully establishing some regular haunts as well.

Lund Sweden in late January  (photo by Isabel Betsill)

linden street elevation

From NCBR - "Fort Collins - Construction on Block One, a mixed use project on the banks of the Cache la Poudre River, is well underway and is scheduled for completion in October, according the the construction manager on the project." Full article here.

More about Block One here.

Bank Lobby

An [au]workshop project has just been recognized with a Best Building Award from the Associated General Contractors of America, New Mexico Branch. The Bank of the Rio Grande in Old Town Albuquerque was completed in the fall of 2013. More images of the bank can be found here. The original AGC NM post is here.

To all of our wonderful clients, collaborators and friends:

[au]workshop architects+urbanists continues growth Formed eight months ago, [au]workshop architects+urbanists is exceeding initial expectations and has hired four additional professionals while continuing to pursue talented staff to help design a growing portfolio of projects in northern Colorado, Denver, New Mexico, California and internationally.

New employees, in order of hire, include Levi Wall, Spencer Lindstrom, Arlo Schumann; and architect Brian Betsill.

Wall, a project designer, received his Master of Architecture degree from Kansas State University in the spring of 2012. His interests include agriculture, urbanism, and sustainability in self-generated, self-sustaining communities.  

Lindstrom, an architectural intern, grew up in Northern Colorado and graduated first in his class at the University of Colorado in 2011.  He will complete his Master of Architecture degree at Rice University in Houston in December.

Schumann, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, has over 12 years of previous professional experience on a variety of project types including single family residential, multi-family housing, commercial, and education. Arlo currently sits on the AIA Colorado North Chapter Board of Directors. In 2009 he received the AIA Colorado North Presidents Award for Service, and in 2010 received the AIA Colorado North Chapter Associate of the Year Award.

Associate Brian Betsill, AIA, LEED AP is a project manager with more than eight years of experience on academic, civic, and commercial projects. With his previous firm, he was the project architect for the Rialto Theater Center in downtown Loveland, Colorado, which was named the 2012 Honor Award winner by the Colorado North Chapter of The American Institute of Architects (AIA).  His most recent project, also with his previous firm, was the brew house and tasting room expansion at Odell Brewing in Fort Collins.

[au]workshop is thrilled to add these dedicated and talented architects and designers to our rapidly growing  team. Our initial hope was to double in size both this year and next and we have nearly accomplished both those targets in eight months thanks in part to the rebounding economy, In fact, we are still looking to hire additional qualified recent graduates.

 We are building a far-reaching Fort Collins based practice and collaborative team framework capable of solving architecture and urban design problems cost effectively and with design integrity.   The folks we’ve been lucky enough to hire put us squarely on that path.

About [auworkshop}:  Formed in 2013 with a focus on quality, authentic architecture and catalytic urban, civic and commercial projects that sustainably invigorate streets, neighborhoods and cities,  [au]workshop’s current design portfolio ranges in scale from Block One, a new downtown Fort Collins mixed-use headquarters for Encompass Technologies just under construction, to multi-million square foot urban mixed-use projects in design or under construction in Thailand. 

The River District Block One Mixed Use project includes a four-story mixed use building over one level of structured parking at the intersection of Linden Street and the Poudre River in Fort Collins, CO. As a catalyst project for Fort Collins’ River District, the ground floor will have space for a restaurant at the north end of the building (closest to the Poudre River and will be the only place in Fort Collins to have a meal and have a view the river) and office / retail space in the remaining space along Linden Street as well as an additional office / retail space on the lower level that will overlook the river. The second floor will be entirely occupied by Encompass Technologies. The third and fourth floors will be residential with one unit having a mezzanine level that will have some spectacular views to the North and East.

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early aerial illustration looking south over the Poudre River

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block one mixed use site pano

After two years of our team working diligently with the City of Fort Collins,  we have all of the necessary permits in place and Brinkman Construction has started working on the Block One Mixed Use project. View corridors have been established, clearing of batch plant spoils is underway and dirt is being removed from the building footprint.

More updates to come.

location of a future [au]workshop designed project - much more to come on this one.

there are plans to populate this with our latest awesomeness - we just have to find the time

more coming soon