Swatches

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

SmithGroup Phoenix’ Freeport-McMoRan Center.

SmithGroup Phoenix has completed a new, 26-story building in downtown Phoenix, the first high rise to grace the city’s skyline in nearly ten years. The $175 million, 700,000-square-foot project, designed for the development team of Mesirow Financial and National Electric Benefit Fund, features a dichroic glass installation on the south facade, and shade fins to protect the new tower’s curtain walls of high-performance glass. The building includes ground-floor lobby and retail spaces, nine levels of parking and 16 floors of tenant space. The tower, called Freeport-McMoRan Center to reflect its anchor tenant, is also slated to house a new Westin hotel.

Architekton’s Ironwood Hall.

Tempe, Arizona’s Architekton has completed Ironwood Hall for Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Arizona. The $17.9 million, 58,500-square-foot classroom building includes facilities for programs ranging from science and engineering to ceramics and general education, as well as faculty offices. With Lord Aeck Sargent of Atlanta responsible for laboratory planning and programming, Architekton designed the compound to open onto a courtyard and be connected to an existing campus building via a pedestrian bridge. Building materials include an ICF wall system, colorful metal siding, concrete and glass. The building is anticipated to receive a LEED Silver Certification.

DPA Architect’s Phoenix Country Club.

DPA Architects, Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona has completed a 65,000-square-foot renovation project for the Phoenix Country Club that includes work on the dining facilities, kitchen, locker rooms, offices and support areas. The firm’s design features a new, freestanding 2,000-square-foot restaurant for the pool and golf course, and a fresh look for the entrance, highlighted by a wing-shaped porte cochere that echoes the form of a Phoenix bird sculpture anchoring the entry.

Pahl Architecture’s Douglas County Sheriff Substation.

Denver’s Pahl Architecture has announced groundbreaking for the new 36,000-square-foot Douglas County Sheriff Substation in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The building, designed to blend with the surrounding Highlands Ranch Town Center, will house the high-tech crime and special investigations units, and serve as a backup dispatch and emergency operations center. Scheduled for completion later this year, the substation is anticipated to receive LEED Silver Certification.

Danoski Clutts Building Group in Las Vegas has completed construction of Baja Fresh at the city’s McCarran International Airport’s D Gates. The 800-square-foot tenant-improvement project included demolition, flooring, metal stud drywall, acoustical ceiling, plumbing, mechanical and engineering work. The majority of the construction took place at night to keep disturbances to travelers and other tenants at a minimum.

TRK Architecture & Facilities Management of Phoenix has completed a 4,000-square-foot nature center for Usery Mountain Regional Park in Mesa, Arizona. The center, slated to be LEED Silver Certified, houses park offices, restrooms, a retail center, exhibit area and classroom, and is adjacent to an outdoor amphitheater. Sustainable strategies include a green roof, photovoltaic panels, water-saving plumbing fixtures and recycled-content building materials.

Repp Design + Construction has completed construction and renovation on its new 4,500-square-foot headquarters in Tucson that includes a design studio, offices and a custom fabrication shop. The design/build firm is anticipating LEED Silver Certification on the project.

St. James Place by Hospitality Pro, Inc.

Denver’s Hospitality Pro, Inc. has completed a $5 million renovation on St. James Place condominiums in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Designer Bridget J. Hankins oversaw the renovation of 48 condo units, popular as ski-season rentals, utilizing a material palette of warm wood, woven fabrics, leather and natural stone. Features include kitchens with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, and marble- and travertine-clad bathrooms.

Before and after residential remodeling by SDG Architecture.

SDG Architecture LLC of Tucson, Arizona has finished renovation work on a 30-year-old residence, also in Tucson. The design impetus was to open the home’s central living spaces to views of the nearby Santa Catalina Mountains and to implement a more streamlined floorplan. Materials used in the project include stucco, glass and galvanized steel.

Aspen remodeling by Rowland+Broughton.

Rowland+Broughton Architecture and Urban Design, with offices in Denver and Aspen, Colorado, has completed the remodeling of a three-bedroom condominium in Aspen. The project included full interior design and is highlighted by a reconfigured fireplace, clad in stone veneer, and the creation of a sculptural “wood box” that serves as a home office.

Curtis Fentress, FAIA, of Denver-based Fentress Architects, has received the national AIA Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. The award recognizes architectural advocacy and achievement in three categories–private-sector architects whose portfolios include the design of architecturally significant public facilities, public-sector architects who work on quality design within their agencies, and public officials or individuals who have furthered awareness of design excellence. Fentress, who won in the private-sector category, has designed such notable projects as Denver International Airport, the city’s glass curtain-walled convention center and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming.

Design Environments for Aging has given Thoma-Holec Design of Gold Canyon, Arizona a Citation of Merit award for the interior design of the La Siena senior living facility in Phoenix. The awards review took place in Dallas with a jury appointed by The Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments, the Center for Health Design and ASID. The facility previously won a first place design award from the Arizona North Chapter ASID. The design firm, which specializes in senior-living facilities, was founded by LuAnn Thoma-Holec, ASID.

Rebecca C. Olson

Rebecca C. Olson, AIA, LEED AP, has been appointed principal and director of the Phoenix office of Westlake Reed Leskosky, an architectural and engineering firm. Olson, who received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, also serves as director of healthcare for the Phoenix office. Westlake Reed Leskosky, which has other offices in Washington, D.C.; New York and Cleveland, Ohio, has expertise in healthcare, historic renovation, cultural, educational and commercial projects.

Architect David Cardenas, AIA, has launched Cardenas Architects, a Phoenix firm specializing in architectural services for commercial, retail, educational, mixed-use and residential markets, as well as master planning. Cardenas was previously a partner in a mid-sized architectural firm.

Edward F. Garcia

Edward F. Garcia, AIA, LEED AP, SmithGroup Phoenix’ learning studio leader, has been elevated to vice president of the architectural and engineering firm. Garcia, a graduate of the University of Arizona’s School of Architecture, has worked on numerous SmithGroup university and community college projects.

Bob Peterson and Rita Peterson, ASID, were respectively installed as first vice chair for the National Home Builders Remodelers and as a member of the executive committee for the National Association of Home Builders 20 Club program during the recent 2010 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. The Petersons, co-owners of Associates in Building and Design, Ltd. in Fort Collins, Colorado, recently celebrated 20 years in business.

Scottsdale’s Elements of Design, an interior design firm, has hired Marcela Molina as assistant project director, fabric librarian and AutoCAD specialist. Molina is a student representative to the Arizona North Chapter ASID.

Albuquerque-based American Clay Enterprises, Inc. has hired Carrie Williar as a color specialist. An art therapist by training, Williar will oversee quality color consistency for the firm’s 43 standard colors as well as producing custom color requests. She will also track color trends in a special blog on the firm’s website. The company specializes in all-natural interior wall finishing products.

Las Vegas-based Carpenter Sellers Architects has announced the renaming of the firm to Carpenter Sellers Del Gatto Architects. Founded in 1986 by Steve Carpenter, AIA, and Rick Sellers, AIA, the firm’s new name reflects the contributions and achievements of partner and principal Michael Del Gatto, AIA, LEED AP. Among the firm’s recent projects are the Andre Agassi Preparatory Academy and the City of Henderson Senior Center.

Carney Logan Burke Architects.

Carney Logan Burke Architects is the new name for Jackson, Wyoming’s Carney Architects. According to founding principal John Carney, FAIA, the name change acknowledges the contributions of principals Eric Logan, AIA, and Kevin Burke, AIA, LEED AP. As part of the transition, the firm also named Andy Ankeny, AIA, and Jeff Lawrence, AIA, as associates.

DLR Group of Phoenix has announced that California-based WWCOT is joining the firm. The California locations in Los Angeles, Modesto, Palm Springs and Riverside, as well as an office in Shanghai, China, will become DLR Group WWCOT. The merger provides DLR Group with a presence in Southern California and Asia, and an expansion in education design, a WWCOT speciality. Adrian O. Cohen, FAIA, LEED AP, will lead DLR Group WWCOT from the Los Angeles office.

Nuszer Kopatz Urban Design Associates has joined Stanley Consultants, Inc. Nuszer Kopatz, founded in 1991 by Mark Nuszer and Mark Kopatz, is a land planning, landscape architecture and community visioning firm. Stanley Consultants provides engineering, environmental and construction services through offices in the United States and abroad.

MoranDownes Architecture, Inc. of Phoenix is now offering energy, water and waste evaluations for hotel and resort properties considering updates and renovations. The firm’s energy and sustainability specialists provide a full menu of services to ensure that hospitality facilities meet optimum performance without sacrificing guest comfort. The firm is a subsidiary of Bokhaus, with offices in Las Vegas and San Diego.

Man Cave lighting from Hinkley’s Lighting Factory.

SRLA Studio, a Scottsdale landscape architecture and urban design firm, has been added as a Small Business Enterprise to the Arizona Unified Certification Program in the category of landscape architecture. The firm was founded by landscape architect Steven C. Rogers, ASLA.

World Wide Stone Corporation has contracted with Green Choice Solar of Scottsdale to install a photovoltaic electric generating plant at its headquarters, also in Scottsdale. The new system will supply an average of 65 percent of World Wide Stone’s electricity. The company is the quarrier and producer of Durango Stone natural stone products.

Hinkley’s Lighting Factory of Scottsdale and Phoenix used the recent Barrett Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale to unveil its new “Man Cave” lighting line made from auto parts. The line includes lighting made from engine parts that are triple-chromed to enhance their appeal.

Sun Lighting receives a Nora Lighting award.

Sun Lighting, with showrooms in Tucson and Phoenix, was honored by Nora Lighting with a Distinguished Achievement Award during the recent International Lighting Show at the Dallas Market. The lighting firm celebrated its 20th anniversary, and Sun Lighting has carried Nora Lighting products for nearly 20 years.