May 29, 2000

Denver oilman's new digs

Michael Shopenn

When a Denver oilman needed to find a good home for "Bambi," he called on Seattle-based GGLO for help.

His Bambi isn't the animated doe of Disney fame; it's a vintage airstream trailer which had been at the oilman's rig sites in the early years of his career. Now, the trusty trailer has been gussied up and retired to the owner's newly remodeled garage.

Called "myGarage," the project is a 3-bay Victorian garage in an historic neighborhood in Denver. In collaboration with artist Misty Todd, GGLO's Clayton O'Brien-Smith, principal in-charge, and project manager Don Mackay transformed the space into an art studio/gallery to showcase the owner's personal art collection as well as reflect his life's work. The garage, with patches of Astro Turf and pink flamingos, also serves as his oil business office.

So that Bambi isn't lonesome away from its familiar home on an oil site, the building also features three divider walls made from an oil tank. A collection of contemporary art contrasts the industrial memorabilia. On June 6, myGarage will be toured by a national group of Museum Art Collectors during the group's Denver conference.

At the owner's request, the project emphasizes sustainable design, incorporating several energy-conservation elements. Walls are insulated 35 percent higher than required, for instance, and operable windows and skylights were used in lieu of mechanical cooling.

Major building systems were renovated and reused, such as the masonry bearing walls, steel windows, steel bowstring trusses and some of the roof decking. Concrete removed during construction was recycled.

Sparling Electrical Engineers of Seattle served as the project electrical engineer; and Candela of Seattle designed the lighting.

Do you have photos of recent projects? Share them with DJC readers. Send high-resolution images and information to lisa.lannigan@djc.com.

Previous columns:

• W Hotel, 05-22-2000
• Mulvanny G2 Architects, 05-15-2000
• Boeing Commercial Group Airplane Group, 05-08-2000
• Casey Family Program, 05-01-2000
• Whittier Elementary School, 04-24-2000
• Muckleshoot casino, 04-17-2000
• Saint Ignatius Hall, 04-10-2000
• Maple Street Office Building, 04-04-2000