Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) is offering a one day workshop at CU Denver which includes continuing education credit opportunities. More information at APTI.org.
This event is free and open to all members and non-members but please RSVP so we can better plan for snacks and refreshments!
Meet at Sloans Lake North Playground just off 26th and Tennyson for the walk at 5:30 or back at the same location at 6:30 if you just want to network!
Join Women in Design for our annual VIP event and April First Tuesday Recess! It's time to celebrate YOU - our valued members and sponsors. Join us for our annual celebration with appetizers, drinks, live music, lots of designer SWAG, and our amazing WiD community. This event is free for WiD Members, so don't forget to sign in when registering. If you register as a non-member and then purchase a membership at the event, you'll receive $30 off the annual membership price!
Door registration will be available but only until event capacity is reached, so make sure to register in advance to secure your spot! Email widinfo@widdenver.org for any questions.
Ample parking is available in the lot at Aurum Home Technology.
By Nancy Kristof
As a member of Women in Design you get some pretty great perks, including members-only hard hat tours! Thanks to Meegan Bennett at DLR Group and WiD Membership chair extraordinaire for helping set up a tour of Hines’ new T3 mass timber spec office building in Rino!
Jessie Johnson with DLR Group provides an overview of the project and its design to Women in Design tour goers, May 2023.
T3 is an acronym for Timber, Transit and Technology. T3 Rino is one among several other T3 projects under construction, including Nashville and Houston. McCaffery and Ivanhoé Cambridge are listed as partners on the Denver project.
From afar, one might miss this six-story, 235,000-sq-ft building among the sea of cranes and high-rise construction dominating the area around RTD’s 38th & Blake station. But get up close and all five senses will tell you this is a different kind of construction site. It not only looks warm and inviting, it smells good!
Hines’ embrace of mass timber is resulting in "26 T3 projects completed, designed or in construction", according to their website.
The first T3 was completed in Minneapolis in 2016. 2019 saw T3 West Midtown Atlanta completed, which is home to Facebook, Haworth and Interior Architects, according to a 2021 news release.
The Denver T3 Rino project topped out in April of this year and is scheduled for completion later this year. A spec office building, the development is yet to secure a tenant (at least as of the time of the tour), with JLL marketing the office space and McCaffery handling retail.
The design team includes DLR as architect of record and Pickard Chilton as design architect (DLR was also involved in the Minneapolis and T3 West Midtown projects as well). Whiting-Turner is the builder. The Rino office is their second T3 project with Hines to date.
The first floor is designed with concrete, primarily to accommodate ground-floor retail and food and beverage permitting, according to Johnson. Everything above is a cross-laminated timber (CLT) system. There are three levels of parking included, but the project’s location directly across from RTD's 38th & Blake A-Line stop, makes public transportation an attractive commuting option. You’ll understand if you've tried to find street parking in Rino lately.
Starting the tour outside, DLR principal Jessie Johnson pointed out the numerous balconies cascading along the edges of the floor plates. As seen in the photo, sections with orange barriers will have curtainwall, while those without will extend to the balconies.
A view of the project from just outside the RTD 38th & Blake A-Line stop.
The first floor is dominated by the open atrium central stair. Once we ascended to the second floor we were treated to a wide open space with seemingly endless views of CLT.
The second floor balcony over the main lobby stair.
Differences and conditions specific to the use of mass timber came up often as the tour progressed. Not only is mass timber more environmentally friendly, it can often be built faster, as CLT beams and columns are typically pre-fabricated as a pre-assembled kit-of-parts brought to the site. (T3 Rino will pursue LEED Gold, Well building and Wiredscore certifications).
The optimum moisture for setting CLT is between six and 16%. Even with this spring being one of the wettest ever in Colorado our humidity still remains below that of cities such as Houston and Atlanta
There’s a total of just under 3000 pieces of timber in T3 Rino. They were setting about 25 pieces a day when erecting the structure, tour leaders said.
Wood expansion typically occurs early during construction, Johnson says, adding she’s seen it go up to an inch or an inch and half in other more humid locations such as Atlanta. But it then settles, she says. The CLT on the T3 Rino project is treated with one coat from the factory and that’s all it will get, adding the colors fade together over time.
"Column spacing on mass timber is tighter," Johnson says, noting another difference. Other components of the T3 project’s structural design included steel cross-bracing.
"One thing about wood compared to steel or concrete is the shear," Johnson says, adding, "the lateral design - timber's not as good on the shear side of things.” The solution came in steel cross bracing.
"Wood would be about twice as big around," Johnson says, explaining the choice to use steel in the cross bracing. This did present an AHJ interpretation issue, however. The city of Denver said the cross bracing did not qualify as a secondary system, deeming it a primary system, which required fireproofing of intumescent paint. Johnson points to this as a lesson learned, as not all jurisdictions interpret the structure system the same way.
Overall coordination on mass timber requires precision in the modelling and design, crediting the efforts managing the model and clash detection. "It's all going to be exposed, so you have to think really neatly how all your HVAC is going to work in the space," Johnson says.
“MEP was a big thing,” for CLT Johnson says, adding the fabricator needs to know where all the penetrations are. Out of those nearly 3000 pieces, only one beam was fabricated incorrectly.
The team also wrote a detailed tenant manual for Hines’ strict requirements on any future modifications. It includes expectation for tenant finishes or raceway or chiller line modifications, some of which is already accounted for in the original design.
Johnson noted live loading for mass timber is a little different than for concrete or steel buildings. Large assembly spaces such as anticipated break areas or conference rooms were thickened to achieve a 100 pounds per square inch load.
Hines isn’t sharing the construction cost of T3 Rino, but on average, Johnson says mass timber projects are coming in at about a 5-8% percent premium.
So why mass timber?
Its numerous benefits are getting a lot of attention: Environmentally friendly, lower embodied carbon, and it often results in faster build times. Beyond statistics, Hines seems to have faith that the kinds of spaces created by mass timber will not only help attract, but also help retain tenants. And as downtown Denver office vacancy rates continuing to hover around 25%, developers are owners are seeking advantages to help them rise above the competition.
Johnson noted surveys of tenants showed many love working in older loft-style buildings and they're often easily leased. Yet the studies also found that people would leave after a few years, citing leaky windows or inconsistent heating and cooling among their reasons. She says projects such as T3 can modernize the look and feel of these older wood-framed buildings and provide tenants with space that helps them attract the best talent.
I’m looking forward to seeing the completed space and in the meantime will await Hines’ announcement on who will be taking the space!
Project team:
Design
Architecture: DLR and Pickard Chilton
Structural Engineering: MKA
MEP: Alvine Engineering
Envelope: Morrison Hershfield
Landscape: Norris Design
Construction:
General Contractor: Whiting-Turner
Structural: Nordic Structures
Concrete: Rago
Mechanical/Plumbing: Legacy Mechanical
Electrical: Weifield Group
Framing: Heggem Lundquist
We've been thinking about what we could do to connect our members during these crazy times and have developed two new membership amenities: a new Membership Directory and Forum. Both of these assets are live, but you must opt-in to participate and update the profile information that you would like to share in the Directory.
Here are the steps to get into the profile and gain access to the forum and directory:
1. Log in on the WiD Website. It is the button at the top.
2. Go to your membership profile, now the orange button on the top.
3. Make sure to update your information in your profile and then at the bottom click "Show Profile" to show your profile in our new member directory.
Your profile will be visible in our directory and you'll be able to use our new Forum to chat with fellow members.
4. Navigate to the Forum
5. Under "My Profile" in the Forum page update your picture and email address if you'd like it to be different than your email associated with your WiD membership.
April 15, 2022 - April 15, 2022
4817 National Western Dr
Description:
Join WiD for a hard hat tour of the Hydro building at the new CSU Spur campus. Still under construction, the Hydro building will focus on water, with Denver Water’s water quality laboratory, a connection to the South Platte River, event space, artist studios, a farm-to-table cafe and more! Following the tour, we will meet for networking happy hour nearby.
Hard hat tours are free and open to members only but space is limited and registration is required. Make sure you are logged into your WiD account to register!
Notes for attendees:
Appropriate construction wear is required for the tour - WiD will provide hard hats, vests and safety glasses for attendees. Bring your own glasses (any type of glasses are fine) and work gloves if you have some.
There is parking adjacent to the building and the tour will meet in front of the building.
Because the building is still under construction, Google maps doesn't understand the address properly but if you search directions for Stockyard Saloon, it should get you there.
Voices on Canvas in partnership with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) is looking for volunteers from WiD (and teams of 2-4 children) to participate in their 11th annual Lego Challenge. Young potential city builders use familiar LEGO building bricks to construct a model city block. The build is representative of their own vision of an ideal place to live, work and play. Each competing Team attends a LEGO Town Hall Meeting and Design Show & Tell Workshop which lays the groundwork towards discussions involving community and urban planning. Volunteers are appreciated NOW until August 10 and the individual time commitment is determined by each individual volunteer! Opportunities on July 10th, July 17th, July 31st and August 7th.
To volunteer, please call 303-329-4625 or email Kathleen@voicesoncanvas.org
Volunteer Opportunity Details Here
Join WiD for craft night at Ironton Distillery. Crafting skills of all level invited to learn or share skills and network. This event is free and open to non-members. Invite your friends and colleagues!
[private] Enter widensamble19 as the promotional code at checkout to receive the $20 member price at registration [/private].
You can find registration for the event through Denver Design Week’s website.
Throughout her 20 years of experience as a design architect, Jovina Amor has created some of the most distinctive and vibrant buildings in Denver. Working with JOHNSON NATHAN STROHE for the last 16 years, Jovina specializes in the comprehensive design process from concept to execution. She has a unique ability to capitalize on the distinct opportunities and constraints of each project and understands how the initial building blocks of a project translate into a fully realized building. It is from these early feasibility studies that the project’s story and building massing emerge. From there, Jovina leads the development of the design throughout the course of the project. Her passion for design is evident throughout each phase of a project. Jovina’s skill in architectural design detailing elevates not only the project a whole but each person’s experience of the space.
Jovina believes in the power of architecture to enhance the built environment in unique and thoughtful ways that enrich people’s lives. She has an innate skill for envisioning the way different materials and their palettes work together holistically to complement their greater context. She takes great care to ensure that the design details reinforce the overall story and intent of the project, stitching together the art and execution of architecture.
Jovina’s design insight and aptitude has helped position JOHNSON NATHAN STROHE as a top architecture and interior design firm in the region. The first in her family to pursue an education outside of India, she came to the United States in 1998 to complete a Master of Architecture at University of Colorado Denver. Her personal warmth and optimistic outlook radiate throughout her personal and professional lives. She enjoys spending time with her kids, family and friends outside of work, as well as singing, painting and volunteering at the kid’s schools.
Some of Jovina’s most notable projects include The Ramble Hotel, City Park Golf Clubhouse, 18th and Market, Garden Court affordable housing, Sheridan Affordable Housing, Tahoe City Lodge, Glacier Club, St. Regis Aspen, 24 Walnut Townhomes and The Douglas Apartments.
Follow textures, lines and scattered stripes, and dive into the imagination; Lindee’s art stems from the colors of tropical birds, the cracks in the walls she draws her murals, energy of the universe that connects us. She was born in Boulder and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Art Education. She is the founder and director of the Fort Collins Mural Project. She currently lives in Denver. She spends her time painting any surface possible, creating immersive art environments and advocating for art.
Join WiD on April 25th to hear each of these 8 panelists speak for 8 minutes each.
Hilary Oliver: Outdoor Industries
Hilary Oliver is a writer, editor and filmmaker based in Denver. She manages and edits Verticulture, the blog for Seattle-based gear company Outdoor Research. As a freelancer, her writing has appeared in Bust, Outside, Adventure Journal, National Geographic Adventure and many other websites and magazines. Her short films have shown at festivals like Banff Mountain Film Festival and Mountainfilm in Telluride. You can find her at hilarymoliver.com.
Wendy Merchant: Education for girls in STEM
Wendy founded Girls in STEM Denver with the express purpose of helping close the gender gap in STEM fields by leveraging her enthusiasm, determination and resources to create pathways that encourage girls to seek a STEM related career prior to entering post secondary education. Wendy graduated with a BS in Architectural Engineering from the University of Wyoming and is a licensed mechanical engineer. Her background includes 20 years of experience working in the Colorado design and construction industry as a consulting mechanical engineer designing building systems including; HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and building automation control systems. In 2013, Wendy decided to follow her passion to give back to the community, founding the nonprofit, Girls in STEM Denver. Utilizing her talents, experience and extensive network of professional women working in STEM related careers, Girls in STEM Denver works directly with high school and middle school students to provide real world career exploration, networking, mentoring and job shadowing opportunities. In her free time, Wendy also enjoys being outdoors skiing, golfing, gardening and spending time with her family.
Stephanie Bruno: Retention for Women in STEM
Stephanie Bruno is chair of the Board of Trustees for The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, a unique community foundation that creates more pathways to economic security for Colorado women. This is her seventh year on the board of trustees where she has also served as Treasurer, and Chair of the Audit and Finance and Investment committees. In her day job Stephanie runs her own financial planning practice where she works to improve the impact of money in peoples’ lives. Stephanie is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, a Certified Financial Planner®, a Certified Private Wealth Advisor® and a Retirement Manager Advisor?. In addition to volunteering with the Women’s Foundation, she serves on the Colorado Zoological Trust Board and previously served on the Lighthouse Writers Workshop Board. Stephanie is honored to be included in the inaugural class of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation’s Colorado Civic DNA Fellows program.
Sarah Palmeri: The Magazine Project
Sarah graduated with a BFA in Fine Arts from Louisiana State University in 2011, where she studied mass communication and studio art. She has worked with Think 360 Arts for Learning since early 2016, an arts education nonprofit that integrates the arts in schools and community centers around Colorado. Her work has been exhibited in Ann Arbor, Baton Rouge, Denver, Key West, Los Angeles, Taos, Santa Fe, and San Francisco, and she has been a member of Strangers Art Collective of Santa Fe, NM since 2015. Sarah is currently is living and working in Denver, Colorado.
Lisa Goodbee: Maternity/Creative Leave
Lisa A. Goodbee, PE has 34 years of experience in a wide variety of civil engineering projects. She started Goodbee & Associates, Inc. in 1994, and along with her staff of 16 utility engineers and planners, has enabled Goodbee to become known as the “go-to” firm for utility coordination. Her experience encompasses a broad range of transportation and utility design and design build projects, including all but one of RTD’s FastTrack’s Corridors and countless CDOT and municipality transportation projects in the metro Denver area, throughout Colorado as well as in Texas, California and Nevada.
Jennifer Bousselot: Denver Green Roof Initiative
Jennifer Bousselot is the Colorado Native Plant Society (CoNPS) Marketing and Events Coordinator and teaches classes and advises online students at Colorado State University in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Jen completed her doctorate research studying green roof species selection, including Colorado native plants, and substrate compositions at Colorado State University in 2010. Jen has taught both homeowner and college-level horticultural courses and managed Master Gardener programs in two states over the past 15 years.
Kathleen Corbett: LGBTQ Spaces
Kathleen Corbett, principal and owner of Corbett AHS, Inc., has worked as a professional architectural historian since 2004 and holds a Ph.D. in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley. Currently, she serves on Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission and on the Colorado Historic Preservation Review Board. Her interest in LGBTQ history dates back to the 1970s when, as a teen, she stole a copy of Gay American History from her hometown public library. It saved her life and she still has it.
Nicole Horst: River Mile
Nicole brings over eighteen years of experience designing and managing some of Wenk Associates’ most complex park, riverfront, and greenway projects that often require the coordination of multi-disciplinary consultant teams and multiple stakeholder groups. She has managed multiple projects along Denver’s South Platte River that range from planning for recreation use as part of habitat restoration and flood risk reduction, final design and construction documents for a new urban park and promenade in the emerging River North (RiNo) arts district, final design and construction of Shoemaker Plaza at Confluence Park. Nicole was responsible for the design and construction of Steamboat Ski Resort’s base area pedestrian promenade and daylighted creek. Currently, Nicole is developing the plan to implement the vision for 7.2 miles along the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and she is part of the visioning team for the future ‘River Mile’, a new urban district along the South Platte River in Downtown Denver.
April 4, 2017 - April 4, 2017
3200 Pecos
Description:
Hosted by the Outreach Committee, join WiD for networking, socializing and learning more about volunteer opportunities. No RSVP required. This event is open to members, friends, colleagues and anyone interested in learning more about Women in Design.
August 2, 2016 - August 2, 2016
BCycle Station at Denver Union Station
Description:
WiD invites you to travel to August's First Tuesday Recess via bicycle tour around downtown Denver. This event is free, open to members and non-members but RSVP is required by July 29th. Bring your own bike or if you don't own one, WiD will provide a BCycle shared bicycle for you.
Cycling not your thing? Feel free to meet us at Nocturne (RSVP still required).
Schedule
5-5:30 Meet @ Union Station BCycle Station, 1651 Wynkoop St.
5:30-6 Bike to Nocturne, scenic route, highlighting new construction & businesses
6-8 - Networking + live music + appetizers & drinks @ Nocturne, 1330 27th Street
RSVP to SDA through debraelles@brsarch.com by noon on Monday, April 18th.
December 1, 2015 - December 1, 2015
1309 26th St.
Description:
First Tuesday Recess hosted by the Events Committee. Come to network, learn more about WiD Events, volunteer opportunities or socialize with your design friends. This is an event open to friends and colleagues and no RSVP is required.
June 21, 2014
1630 Hawthorn Ave.
Boulder, CO
Registration is still open for this event since we have met our minimum to volunteer at the Gardens.
Growing Gardens is growing with a focus on community farming and youth involvement. Growing Gardens has various projects in which they encourage people to volunteer to learn and experience a direct and deep connection with plants, the land and each other. Women in Design will be working with the Cultiva! youth program and/or the Children's Peace Garden. Please go to growinggardens.org for more information about the two programs
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Saturday February 8, 2014
1755 Blake St.
Denver, CO
The Lineup:
Morning Session
Lunch Panel
Afternoon Session
For more information on the speakers please see attached: Business By Design Subjects and Speakers_2014
to RSVP please email widinfo@widdenver.org
Thursday January 23, 2014
2501 Blake Street
MEET OUR SPONSORS
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Several months ago, I asked my friend Kristin, “Why are women (and men) joining Women in Design?” The first phrase was, “WiD is different. It focuses on the creation of community.” WiD is heading into its 8th year of creating community and our fourth year as a non-profit. As with all youth, we are becoming sturdier and stronger on the legs of women who have supported and served the organization. As a result, this year our theme is ‘Community Building/Building Community’…..thank you, Kristin!
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Our volunteers woke up bright and early the morning of November 3rd and met at the Taxi development parking lot to carpool up to Kittredge, a small community about 20 minutes west of Morrison. We were greeted by the Blue Spruce Habitat Construction Manager, Stephen Colella, who was holding a very long To-Do List. Our ladies got busy checking off items on the list. The site is situated on a steep slope and one of the tasks was to carry SIP panels down to the northern low end of the duplex to begin installing them. It’s hard enough to balance and walk down that slope but carrying something bulky and heavy makes that even more fun. Those who weren’t busy hauling were put to work hammering, seeding, cutting and drilling. There was no shortage of things to do and we had a lot of fun doing it! The home owners of the duplex units came to the site to finalize their carpet selections and were able to jump in and help with some of the SIP erection.
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Wednesday August 22, 2012 - Wednesday August 22, 2012
1912 Pearl St.
Description:
Please join Women in Design for a fun night of pottery and paint.
Most of my friends and acquaintances know that along with all aspects of building design and construction, I love the domestic arts…..from cooking and entertaining to creating sculptural handbags and clothing to creating a flower garden with all the native plants of Colorado and compatible regions of the world to sketching. Since cooking and entertaining is listed first, I will just tell you that I love to cook. It’s another palette in the tool box of creativity. The ingredients that go into culinary concoctions are like the pencils, pens, paint tubes, rolls of trace, etc. preset in other parts of my world. Cooking for people and having them all around the table laughing, discussing concepts and ideas, telling stories and experiences, and enjoying great food together, are some of my favorite times in my youth and now. The table is a place where the head is responsible for ensuring the comfort and hospitality of the folks surrounding it.
Diverse groups of herbs take root in Cheryl's garden to create the complex flavors that come to her table.
As an Executive Co-chair for Women in Design-Denver, it’s important for me to invite you all to the table of WiD-Denver. I recently attended the USGBC Cascadia Region Living Futures unConference in Portland, Oregon, which highlighted why an affirmative RSVP is required. The theme of the event was “Women Reshaping the World” and demonstrated through speakers and activities that women have an important role at the table of building design and construction as well as the political scene. And it’s important for the health of not just our families but our societies and our planet.
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Sunday July 15, 2012 - Sunday July 15, 2012
Description:
Please RSVP for this event by July 13th so that we can plan food & lemonade accordingly.
Friday June 22, 2012 - Friday June 22, 2012
100 W 14th Ave Parkway
Description:
Come and join us for private tour of the Yves Saint Laurent at the Denver Art Museum
WiD Members: Please login in order to recieve membership pricing. 
Save the Date for the following networking opportunities with Women in Design
Friday June 1, 2012 - Friday June 1, 2012
Description:
Upcycle and get creative with WiD!
We're using reclaimed fabric to fashion some housewares for the Habitat for Humanity "Flex Plex."
If you're interested email Laura Butler or RSVP online and Laura will contact you with more info.
