Swatches

>>> who's doing what, where in the design industry

BY NORA BURBA TRULSSON

Humphries Poli Architects of Denver has won a 2007 Citation Award from the AIA Denver Chapter for the firm's design of the new Louisville, Colorado library. The 32,000-square-foot facility, located in the community's historic district, was designed to place high-traffic areas on display, storefront style, on the street side of the building.

Humphries Poli Architects' Louisville library.

In other Humphries Poli Architects news, Dennis Humphries, AIA, received the 2007 Silver Medal from the AIA Western Mountain Region. The medal, the highest honor presented by the region, recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the AIA, the architectural profession and to the Western Mountain Region community. Humphries founded the firm in 1994 with Joseph Poli, AIA.

Tucson building firm John Wesley Miller Companies has received a 2007 Livable Communities Award from the AARP and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) for its Armory Park del Sol residential community in downtown Tucson. The homes were designed with universal design features, including wider door access and garage and patios placed at the same level as the homes' interior floors. Four other projects in the Midwest and South also won awards.

Design Workshop, a landscape architecture and planning firm with offices in Denver, Aspen, Salt Lake City, Santa Fe, Phoenix and other cities, has been selected as one of the top 25 architecture firms to work for by ZweigWhite, a business information source for the design and construction industry. Design Workshop was ranked number eight for employee-friendly policies such as help with graduate school, housing-loan programs and an emphasis on continuing education.

Civitas, a Denver-based urban design, planning and landscape architecture firm, has designed the plaza, streets and streetscapes for Belmar Town Center and Plaza, part of a mixed-use residential, retail, office, restaurant and cultural development in downtown Lakewood, Colorado. Done in collaboration with Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston, the project includes a one-acre plaza, large sidewalks and narrow streets to encourage pedestrian activity. The project sits on the site of the former Villa Italia mall, which dates to 1966. At buildout, Belmar will include 1,300 residential units, nine acres of parks and open space, and 175 stores.

Civitas' Belmar Town Center and Plaza.

DLR Group of Phoenix has completed a record number of school facilities in the metro Phoenix area, in time for fall 2007 openings. The architectural firm's recent education projects include one new high school, the Betty Fairfax High School in Laveen, Arizona; two middle schools, the Madison No. 1 Middle School in Phoenix and J.O. Combs Middle School in Queen Creek, Arizona; seven elementary schools; several renovated high schools; and several district facilities. DLR Group, which has 14 offices nationwide, was ranked number one in educational design in 2007 by World Architecture Magazine.

The Betty Fairfax High School by DLR.

Gensler, which has an office in Denver, recently completed architectural and interior work on a prototype store for REI, a national outdoor equipment and clothing retailer, in Boulder, Colorado. The 42,000-square-foot project was the renovation and expansion of REI's existing Boulder location, and was designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Silver standards for commercial interiors. The store's design includes an elevated community center, more natural daylighting and building-integrated photovoltaics.

HKS, which has an office in Phoenix, has broken ground on the $80 million Glendale, Arizona spring training facility for the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball teams. Located on a 141-acre site, the project will include a stadium that can accommodate 13,000 fans, 118,000 square feet of clubhouses, numerous practice fields and a premium-seating lounge. When completed in 2009, it will be Arizona's largest Cactus League spring training facility.

Construction is under way for Taylor Place, Arizona State University's first residence hall for its downtown Phoenix campus. The 366,500-square-foot mixed-use structure was designed by SmithGroup Phoenix to include two 12-story residential towers that feature dining areas and interaction spaces. The complex was designed to be energy efficient by its siting, low-flow plumbing fixtures and operable windows. Developed by Capstone Development, the residence hall is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2008–09 school year.

Taylor Place by SmithGroup.

Phoenix-based Archicon, an architecture and interiors firm, has designed the Pebble Creek retail and office building in Goodyear, Arizona. The 26,400-square-foot building is being developed by March Development. Archicon will also provide tenant improvement services for the building's occupants.

Archicon's Pebble Creek.

Landscape architect Angela Dye, FASLA, of Phoenix has been inducted by the national ASLA as its 2008 president-elect. Dye, founder of A. Dye Design, Inc., will succeed Perry Howard, FASLA, of Greensboro, North Carolina as president in 2009. Dye and Howard were among the 2008 ASLA officers inducted during the organization's annual fall meeting and expo in San Francisco.

Scottsdale, Arizona interior designer Janet Brooks, ASID, has partnered with Angelica Henry, to form Brooks Henry, also based in Scottsdale. The firm was previously known as Janet Brooks Design. The two designers recently received a Best of Show–Residential design award from the Arizona North Chapter ASID's 2007 design competition.

CSHQA, a Boise, Idaho–based architectural, engineering and planning firm, has elected Steven D. Benner, AIA, LEED AP, as an associate stockholder. Benner, who joined the firm in 1997, has an architectural degree from the University of Florida and has recently led projects such as Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.

Kevin Uliassi, AIA, has joined Architectural Resource Team, Inc. (ART) in Phoenix as project manager. Prior to joining ART, Uliassi had his own architectural practice in Arizona. ART's recent projects include community centers, educational facilities, and religious and retail buildings.

Bret Johnson, AIA, of Pahl Architecture in Denver has received his LEED accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council. Pahl, an owner of the firm, is currently spearheading the Community Banks of Colorado Cherry Creek project, which is registered for LEED certification.

Margaret Casey has been named director of programming for the World Market Center in Las Vegas. Casey, a veteran of the home-furnishings industry, will focus on the semiannual Las Vegas markets, including expanding the event lineup at the facility's Las Vegas Design Center.

In other World Market Center news, Cresent Fine Furniture has opened a showroom on the 11th floor of Building C. The 2,030-square-foot showroom will carry high-end residential furniture, including Cresent Classics, a line of furnishings made with sustainably harvested wood. The company is a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council.

Johnson Carlier, a Phoenix general contracting firm, has opened a custom home-building division. The division will be led by Brett V. Barker, sales manager; Ran Ethington, senior superintendent; and Rick Weiss, vice president of operations. The firm was founded in 1921. Recent projects include the Phoenix Art Museum's expansion and the Barrow Neurological Institute, both in Phoenix.

DFD Cornoyer Hedrick, an Arizona commercial architectural firm, has changed its name to Davis. The name change occurred as the firm moved into its new quarters in Tempe, Arizona. The practice was formed when DFD Architecture acquired Cornoyer Hedrick in 2001. It was previously located in Phoenix.

Interior designer Lina Quintero is the new owner of Elements of Design, a full-service residential design firm in Scottsdale, Arizona. JoAnn Johnston founded the firm in 1992 and will remain as a designer. Quintero has a bachelor's degree in art from Arizona State University.