Practice and Design Conference |

GENERATE 2024: Breakout Series 3

GENERATE 2024

Breakout Series 3

Leveraging Prefab to Make the Performance Leap

This seminar will describe how prefabricated construction and building science are a perfect marriage to move the architecture and construction industry toward higher-quality, healthier, lower-carbon, and more durable buildings. Collective Carpentry, a panelized building assembly manufacturer, and Shape Architecture, a contemporary design firm specializing in site-specific, low-energy buildings, will discuss advantages, methods, and lessons learned.

Morgan Law, AIA is a principal and co-founder of Shape Architecture Studio based in Denver, Colorado. Shape was founded to be a trailblazer of sustainable building practices and high performance design in the mountain west. The 8-person office is working on a variety of building types across the region. While our project sizes, style and type vary, the common thread throughout is utilizing site features and passive strategies to reduce energy and increase comfort, utilizing cutting edge building technologies and mechanical systems to promote health, resilience and equity in the built environment.Morgan Law received his Master’s at the University of Oregon where he focused on sustainable design. His thesis project was collaborating with Miller Hull on the Bullitt Center in Seattle, one of the first certified Living Building projects in the country. He then spent 4 years working with Kaplan Thompson Architects in Portland, Maine where he served as the project manager on some of the country’s first Passive House Certified commercial and multi-family buildings. After a stint in the Pacific Northwest working for Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects, Morgan relocated to Colorado to help start Shape Architecture. Over the last 8 years, Morgan has worked on a handful of award winning projects and focuses on Colorado’s mountain communities. In 2020, Morgan relocated to Leadville where he currently lives with his wife and two kids.

Jan Pratschke

CEO, Co-Owner, head of design

Jan oversees the design process and the production of all 3D models, shop drawings, cut lists, and install drawings for the shop and install teams, and as such is often the go-to person for our architect, builder, and engineering partners.

Jan brings a Timber Framing and business background to his work at Collective Carpentry, and is equally at home in front of a computer or on the jobsite. He grew up in Dublin, Ireland, and currently lives in Invermere with partner Jenne, and sons Charlie (11), and Leo (7). He used to enjoy biking, climbing and playing his accordion in his spare time but now he’s renovation his own old house so he just does that.

Aspen Distillers Case Study / Stewardship of Colorado’s Natural Resources

Aspen Distillers, located in Basalt, Colorado, was designed and built as a new kind of distillery — one that produces exceptional spirits in harmony with the land. The project was an opportunity to shift the paradigm in how spirits are manufactured. Aspen Distillers’ vision requires innovative thinking by pushing the limits of traditional sustainability, with the project on track to be the first Full Petal Living Building Challenge distillery in the world. The distillery’s campus identity is defined by its alpine ecology, its surroundings along the Rio Grande Trail, and outdoor gathering spaces that contribute to the thriving local ecology. Aspen Distillers is designed to generate more renewable energy than it consumes in operation with onsite solar and battery storage – contributing to one of the nation’s cleanest energy grids. The wastewater generated by the distilling process is treated onsite and returned to the local ecology to ensure a resilient Colorado River Basin while also supporting the onsite urban agriculture. The distillery’s environmental commitment began prior to construction with the salvage of all waste from the site demolition for reuse by local partners. In construction, the limited waste generated, after optimizing the building’s design, was diverted from the landfill. The project promotes a materials economy that is ecologically restorative, non-toxic, transparent, and socially equitable.

David C. Pfeifer, AIA

Principal | President

Anderson Mason Dale Architects

Bachelor of Architecture, University of Cincinnati

2004 Young Architect of the Year, AIA Denver

David Pfeifer is president and a principal of Anderson Mason Dale Architects. As a design principal, David has led award winning projects throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West for over twenty-five years. He leads the studio’s larger strategic initiatives and brings a depth of experience in higher education, laboratory, and municipal projects to the firm’s portfolio. David’s work includes more than 15 LEED projects, most recently the LEED v4 Platinum Aspen Distillers, as well as University of Colorado Anschutz’s new Campus Safety and Preparedness Building, the first Net Zero building in the CU System.

Stephan Hall, AIA, PLA, LEED AP BD+C

Project Architect

Anderson Mason Dale Architects

Master of Architecture,
Master of Landscape Architecture,
Master of Urban Design,
University of Colorado Denver

Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning, Social Geography, State University of New York, Albany

2022 Young Architect of the Year, AIA Colorado

A Senior Associate of the firm, Stephan’s well-rounded training and certification in planning, architecture and landscape design has made him a capable lead architect working on a variety of project types throughout the region. His creativity and collaborative nature make him an effective design team member. Since joining the firm in 2012, Stephan has contributed significantly to some of AMD’s high-profile public projects while pushing the envelope in sustainable design for clients—in addition to the Aspen Distillers campus, he led the design of the Platte River Power Authority’s new Headquarters and Energy Engagement Center and Northglenn’s new City Hall, a mass timber structure on track to be the first CORE certified building in the State and one of the first CORE municipal buildings in the country.

Luc Bamberger, AIA, LEED Green Associate

Project Architect

Anderson Mason Dale Architects

Master of Architecture, University of Colorado Denver

Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, University of California Santa Cruz

Luc is one of the firm’s most talented and articulate architects, with 13 years at AMD. An Associate of the firm, he has excellent communication skills with a strong background in technical design and production from previous work in the film and television industry. Luc has seamlessly translated these abilities into architecture at the firm. In addition to managing the Aspen Distillers project—the world’s first LEED Platinum distillery—he has worked on public projects at all scales from planning projects for the Office of the State Architect to the United States Olympic &Paralympic Museum and the firm’s municipal and higher education projects across the region.

Lauren McNeill is an Associate Principal with Group14 Engineering – a woman owned sustainability & energy efficiency consulting firm based in Denver. In her nearly 15 years of experience at Group14, Lauren has led over 100 projects to achieving their LEED certification goals. On the Aspen Distillery project featured at this year’s conference, Lauren is overseeing the project’s Living Building Challenge pursuit and recently attained LEED Platinum certification. Lauren has been a champion for the International Living Future Institute for the past decade and presently serves on their Water Petal Technical Advisory Group.

Preserving and Upgrading Difficult Masterpieces – Resolving Technology and Preservation Challenges at Gio Ponti’s Martin Building and Gordon Bunshaft’s Hirshhorn Museum

Near contemporaries, Gordon Bunshaft’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC, and Gio Ponti’s Denver Art Museum North Building, opened in the 1970s and are landmarks of Modernist Architecture. The Hirshhorn serves as the Smithsonian Institution’s museum of contemporary art. In its time, the building, a squat concrete donut, nearly windowless on the exterior and elevated over a courtyard by four massive piers, was a controversial addition to a landscape of stately and monumental “traditional” museums. The Denver Art Museum’s Martin Building, a tile-clad tower inspired by hilltop castles in Ponti’s native Italy, was similarly groundbreaking as a high-rise art museum and a striking addition to Denver’s skyline. After more than forty years, the buildings were plagued by performance issues that are part and parcel of their 1970s technology: the Hirshhorn’s energy performance was among the worst in SI’s portfolio, and the mechanical humidification required to preserve the art collection in both buildings caused wintertime condensation. While these issues can be ameliorated or resolved with contemporary technology, both the Hirshhorn’s and the Martin Building’s peculiar geometry and immutable architecture place limits on the addition of contemporary materials and equipment. Trade-offs include appearance changes, disruption, reduction in usable space and, of course, cost. Using the Building Science-based options analysis for the Martin Building and the Hirshhorn enclosures as an example, the presentation will describe the building’s performance issues, as well as the technical analysis and decision-making process that is applicable to the rehabilitation of historic icons that house high-performance buildings.

Niklas W. Vigener, PE, is a senior principal and Chief Technical Officer at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, a national engineering firm active in building rehabilitation, enclosure consulting and structural engineering. He has led many of the firm’s most notable building technology and historic preservation projects. His particular area of interest is the careful rehabilitation of historic buildings to incorporate high-performance building enclosures. He worked on the rehabilitation of Columbia University’s Butler Library, the multi-phase restoration of the New York State Capitol Building, the National Air and Space Museum, and a number of other museums on the National Mall in Washington DC. He has lectured at Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Civil Engineering and the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture.

Ned Kirschbaum, FAIA is a principal and Technical Design Director at Fentress Architects. His career spans more than 40 years during which time he has distinguished himself as an expert in Project Team Leadership, Project Execution, High-Performance Building Envelope Design, Building Materials Specification, and Sustainable Design. He has served as Project Director for all 8 of Fentress Architects’ high-rise buildings in the Arabian Gulf as well as many other of Fentress’ award winning buildings. His particular interest is the design of high performance,structural glazed curtain walls including the double-curved, point-supported, cable-net façade at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport Central Terminal and the 25foottall, scalloped glass façade of the Denver Art Museum Welcome Center. Ned was founding Chairman of the Building Enclosure Council – Colorado and served as an Advisory Group member on the National AIA Building Science Knowledge Community.

GENERAT-ION: Navigating the mutli-generational workforce and the future of the profession

“GENERAT-ION” – a discussion on the current landscape and future of the profession from the perspective of an emerging professional, young architect, mid-career architect, and fellow. Hear how the current and future leaders in the profession see it changing, how they are navigating multiple generations in the workforce.

Kaylyn Kirby, AIA is an Associate Principal and Licensed Architect at Semple Brown Desig n, where she leads and supports on a variety of projects from mixed-use, multi-family, hospitality, and adaptive re-use. Through a diverse background that has led her across the country, she has a passion for designing with a sense of place. Kaylyn enjoys the creative problem solving that each project brings and the unique opportunities that can be found through the process.

Active in the profession, Kaylyn has served on the AIA Colorado Board of Directors, multiple committees, and at the AIA National level with the Young Architects Forum as the Colorado Representative. She is passionate about bringing up the younger generation of architects and advancing the profession.

Kari Lawson, AIA is a skilled local project architect specializing in health-care facility design. At HDR, Kari assumes a pivotal role collaborating with the project manager to navigate the intricacies and technical considerations from the project inception to completion. Kari possesses an extensive portfolio having significantly contributed to the design development and construction documentation of critical heath-care facilities including regional replacement hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and urgent care clinics. Her professional commitment extends beyond functionally and encompasses a strong emphasis on sustainability and evidence-based design principles specific for healthy environments. With a keen comprehensive understanding of health codes, she ensures meticulous compliance to standards while elevating facilities and communities. Kari currently serves as the director for Strategic Partnerships for the AIA National Associates Committee as well as the representative for the state of Colorado. She is also a 2024 scholar for the AIA Colorado Christopher Kelly Leadership Development Program.

Sarah Semple Brown, FAIA

As co-founder and design principal of Semple Brown Design since 1982, Sarah Semple Brown’s thoughtful, layered approach to the design process is guided by her innate ability to genuinely understand her clients and their desires. She has established a deserved reputation for being able to distill the history and character of a place into a unique built environment. Incorporating history, climate and the community, her award-winning projects are infused with simple clean concepts, depth, warmth, and quality—and are always respectful of the context and the people that inhabit them. A prominent leader in the regional design community, she advocates for design rooted in timeless fundamentals and she leverages her influence on behalf of the profession. Sarah is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), a past AIA Colorado Conference Co-Chair, and CU Design Review Board member.

Ken Andrews, AIA, Partner / Principal Architect at Arch11

Ken Andrews is a designer and firm leader who believes that the act of design should be a meaningful response to its place, time, and culture both inside and outside the practice. His visionary leadership is evident in the unique insights he brings to the evolving dynamics of the architectural profession. With over a decade of teaching at the University of Colorado and receiving distinctions such as the AIA National Young Architect Honor Award in 2020, his career reflects a dedication to shaping the future of the architectural profession through both practice and academia.

Rebekah Wagoner, AIA is a LEED accredited professional and an Associate with Gensler’s Denver office, focusing on regional airports and resilient design. She earned her Masters of Architecturefrom Kansas State University, and a Master of Science in Architecture and an annotation in Technology in Sustainable Development from Delft Technical University in the Netherlands. Through her career, Rebekah has experience on varied project types including mixed-used, education, healthcare, towers, and adaptive reuse, but has discovered an enthusiasm for aviation, and has developed project area expertise in the planning, design, and execution of this typology. In 2023, Rebekah was honored to receive the AIA Colorado Young Architect of the Year. Rebekah has a passion for thoughtful design, building community, developing a resilient future, and investing in the people surrounding the journey of architecture. She is the architecture studio’s Resilience Leader, has served on the executive committee for the AIA Chistopher Kelley Leadership Program (CKLDP), and has been the lead instructor for the ACE and AITC high school architecture camps, seeking to help shape the next generation of design leaders.