Gates Family Foundation Offices + Roof Deck

"A significant portion of the Foundation’s work involves support for conservation and natural resource stewardship in Colorado, and we are a capital funder of many nonprofit and community facilities. We always encourage grantees to employ green and sustainable materials and practices, so LEED Gold certification for our space seemed appropriate—we felt we could create an efficient, sustainable and contemporary set of improvements that worked well with the historic character of the building,"

-- Tom Gougeon, president of the Gates Family Foundation. 

The Gates Family Foundation's new headquarters is located on the fourth floor of the historic Hover Building in the heart of Denver's Downtown Business District. The project includes the renovation of a 7,500 square foot top floor office space with a rooftop deck. The addition met the challenge of preserving the rich historic nature of the building's exterior architecture while complying with the rigorous standards required to achieve a LEED Gold Commercial Interiors Certification and setting a new precedent for the Foundation’s mission.

The biggest challenge by far was integrating the sheer volume of specialized HVAC and Lighting Controls technology required to meet the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Gold standards while visually preserving the historical character of the space.  Successful integration was achieved through very careful coordination between the Architect and General Contractor. Raised flooring--spanning the full space--and a series of custom-designed soffits conceal 90 percent of mechanical, electrical and technology systems which allows for total visual clarity to the existing historic wood structure above.