WAZEE WIRE WORKS
17 Residential Condominiums / Ground Floor Retail
Historic Restoration and Addition – 1998
18000 SF (e) 36000 SF (n) – Cost: $6 million

The Wazee WireWorks is an urban in-fill project, carefully designed and engineered to fit neatly into its 75’ x 75’ site between three historic structures — all of which are over 100 years old. Situated in Denver’s Lower Downtown Historic District, this contribution to lower downtown was designed to comply with the strict guidelines of the Department of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings. The addition addresses the historic context into which it is placed by harmonizing with its surroundings and yet it still makes the clear statement that this is a modern building.

The design team of BlueSky Studio (as architects) and Monroe + Newell, Inc. (as Structural Engineers) met the challenges of tucking a building into a tight site bounded on three sides by historic buildings of load-bearing masonry. Existing building foundations had to be extended while maintaining occupancy. The new structural system was designed to cantilever 12 feet to another building to avoid a situation of differential settlement.

Another unique issue was dealing with Denver Building Code requirements. The existing building onto which the addition was constructed was a typical load bearing masonry and wood structure, which is common throughout the warehouse district. This building could not have been built under today’s codes, as it would not have met standards for seismic resistance. The addition met all requirements of current building codes and was built as a totally separate structure that continued to provide openings and shared exit systems.

The design team worked closely with the general contractor to deliver a building of extraordinary complexity in budget. Value Engineering resulted in savings to the client of over one million dollars (20% reduction in budget from original estimates). BlueSky’s architect received the highest compliment given by a contractor, having produced: “… one of the best sets of drawings we’ve ever seen.”