Discovery

Discoveries abound when you work on preservation projects! Old buildings have lots of stories to tell and our Engine House No. 5 is certainly no different. During demolition work on the exterior of the building we discovered a few fun things- old brick pavers and railroad tracks chief among them. Some discoveries have costs, like having to remove the brick pavers to pour the concrete gutter pans, and others don't - the railroad tracks still there for the next time someone needs to redo the sidewalk.

The interior has held a few more surprises for us. The ceiling in what will be our break room up on the second floor had to be removed due to severe water damage. We weren't quite sure when this "penthouse" was built ( it was definitely an add-on), but there weren't many records as to when it was constructed. On one of the joists we found the date 6-9-41 and 3.30 (presumably the cost of the lumber!) Maybe not definitive as to the construction date, but kind of a fun find nonetheless. Upon removal of the non-historic carpet we did discover the original fire pole openings. Although the poles have been long removed, it is probably the most popular question we've gotten and now we'll be able to point to where they were located. We have also stumbled upon some questionable structural issues with the roof framing, which necessitated the removal of historic ceilings. We uncovered a label beneath the plaster entitled "Adamant" plaster board. I did a little research on this material and found this information on the USG website:

1915 - Adamant Board

The fire-resistant properties of USG's Adamant Board (a variation on Sackett Board) made it a popular choice for barracks construction during World War I.

Sackett board 1909 - Sackett Plaster Board Co. Purchased

With the purchase of the Sackett Plaster Board Co., USG positioned itself as the leader in gypsum wall technologies. Augustine Sackett, founder of the Sackett Plaster Board Co., invented Sackett Board in 1894. The product, which consisted of alternating layers of gypsum and wool felt, was promoted as the "logical successor to wood and metal lath." It was the early forerunner of modern drywall.

So, we are looking at an original plaster board material, and it is basically the transitional phase between using wood lath beneath your plaster and modern drywall construction. And although we hated to loose it, we were able to document what the material was and the construction date.

We're pretty well through the discovery phase now and are beginning to frame in the office. The next update will discuss the mock-ups for the various restoration items such as windows and masonry work.

Engine House No. 5 Update

The project is well underway now and the majority of the interior space has been cleared out with the original materials left to shine. We have sand blasted the wood joists and begun stripping the interior brick using gel strippers and water. The original cast iron stair has also been sandblasted and has revealed so much more of the natural beauty of that material than usable any more.

One of the masonry infills has been removed, too, it starts to give a good sense of how much light will be on the inside (even though it is now covered in plywood for security reasons).

Speaking of the interior, the design of the lobby space is coming along. Above is a sketch of what it might look like standing in the lobby. One of the materials we are exploring is beetle kill pine… they used it at the Biennial in the McNichols building and it looks great!

We are fortunate to have a B-cycle station right across the street from the building, hopefully we’ll be able to take good advantage of those to help us get around town.

We are still on schedule for a Thanksgiving move-in date with lots to do before then. Stay tuned!

SLATERPAULL Interview on CBS4

See the interview with SLATERPAULL's Jamie Pedler on CBS4. The Project Green segment gives details on the restoration of Engine House No. 5 and transformation into SLATERPAULL's new office, including the 'green' aspects of making it a truly sustainable space.
Watch the video.

Union Station Assessment Update

The draft is moving along – we have almost 2,000 photographs, which we are sorting through and organizing. The draft itself is currently over 125 pages without any photographs or other inserts!

We are proceeding with a window and interior door schedule to better organize the various construction dates and help identify exactly what material is original and important to preserve. The interior door schedule has nearly 150 individual doors. ME Group has been working hard on the mechanical and electrical portions and doing a preliminary energy model on the building to provide data on the impact that various scenarios will have on energy costs. The three scenarios are:

1. Existing building: This provides information on present building energy use for lighting, power, HVAC and domestic water heating. This will be the baseline to be compared to other systems.

2. Minimum efficient recommended building system: this models the Station based on ASHRAE Standard 90.1 2007. This standard establishes the maximum energy usage based on new equipment and lighting efficiencies. The Standard provides the recommended HVAC system and lighting densities for this type of building. The recommended HVAC system used is a variable air volume air distribution system, water cooled chilled water plant and district steam for a heating source.

3. High efficient building system: this models the type of building system that exceeds the ASHRAE 90.1 Standard. The system modeled would be a ground source water heat pump system with an energy recovery ventilation system to meet outside air ventilation requirements. This model will provide information on what the energy costs would be on a system that exceeds the minimum ASHRAE Standard.

This model will help make decisions that give the best “bang for the buck” in terms of payback and energy savings as the project moves ahead into design. For now, we are using it as an example of what could be done and combining it with our assessment recommendations.

On the electrical side, a lot of effort has been put into understanding the reproduction of the missing light fixtures in the main train hall. We'll be providing an update on the proposed reconstruction of the large chandelier fixtures, so stay tuned...

Abatement & Demolition Underway at Engine House No. 5...

Abatement and preliminary demolition are moving forward at Engine House No. 5. Here at SLATERPAULL, we are working on some last minute interior details and materials for the new office space. We are also happy to announce that, in partnership with Colorado Preservation, Inc., we have received a $35,000 grant for exterior masonry and the reconstruction of the “eyebrow” roof over the two-story portion of the building as seen in the historic photographs. The grant is from the State Historical Fund of History Colorado (formerly the Colorado Historical Society). Colorado Preservation, Inc. will be managing the grant. Thanks to CPI for partnering in this effort!

We have also been working with ME Group to help determine the layout and appropriate lighting fixtures for various locations in the office space using Revit, 3D modeling, and AGi32, lighting calculation software. See the video...

SLATERPAULL Purchases Engine House No. 5

It's official! SLATERPAULL Architects has purchased Engine House No. 5 from the City and County of Denver with plans to restore the 1922 building to serve as the firm’s corporate headquarters.

SLATERPAULL’s design solution for the new office will blend the historic character of Engine House No. 5 with a flexible, collaborative environment through sustainable design efforts and an extensive interior and exterior restoration and adaptive re-use process. The process will entail masonry rehabilitation, steel window replacement, wood window rehabilitation, door and window opening restoration, roof and interior rehabilitation with reconstruction based on historic photographs on the exterior of the building. To date, SLATERPAULL has received a grant from the Governors Energy Office for energy efficient design in historic buildings and has applied for historic funds for exterior work. The “Engine House No. 5” sign is intact and visible now for the first time in 35 years.

“We are thrilled to have found a building that meets our needs as we continue to grow and gives us an opportunity to combine two of our passions – sustainable design and historic preservation,” says Jamie Pedler, president and CFO. “At SLATERPAULL, it is our goal to design buildings that exceed our client’s vision and further our mission of ‘Design for a Sustainable Future.’ Purchasing Engine House No. 5 gives us an opportunity to utilize our expertise to design a highly sustainable, green building for our own use and contribute to the historic fabric of our community at the same time. It couldn’t be a more perfect fit for our firm.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in June with a November move-in date. We invite you to continue following the restoration process here.

April 29th Union Station Tour a Great Success!

April's PRESERVATION INSIDER: BEHIND THE SCENES IN HISTORIC SPACES tour - the first of an ongoing program hosted by Historic Denver, Inc. and SLATERPAULL Architects, was well-attended. Thanks to all who joined us!






Images: Dana Crawford speaks about the campaign to resurrect Union Station's historic Mizpah Arch; SLATERPAULL Architect Melanie Short, AIA leads the group on a tour of the historic station's exterior. (Historic Denver's John Olson, not pictured, followed Melanie's piece with a tour of Union Station's rarely seen inside spaces.)