Design of Colorado Springs Fire Station #1 nationally recognized

HB&A’s addition and remodel design for Colorado Springs Fire Station #1 has earned a Bronze Award in the category of Renovation from Firehouse Magazine. This is Firehouse Magazine’s the ninth annual Station Design Awards program, which recognizes outstanding architecture and design from fire departments and emergency facilities nationwide. 

Gold, Silver and Bronze awards are issued across seven categories of facilities in this prestigious competition: Career 1 and 2, Satellite, Volunteer/Combination, Shared, Public Safety Training, and Renovation.

Peter Matthews, Firehouse editor-in-chief said, “This is the ninth year of the awards, and we are excited to see the advances in fire station designs. It’s wonderful to see the coordination between fire departments and architectural firms to design stations with a focus on keeping firefighters trained and healthy to better serve their communities.”

Winners were selected by a panel of seven judges, including fire chiefs and architects experienced in recent design and construction.

All participants will appear in print and online in Firehouse Magazine’s November 2022 issue.

Colorado Springs Airport, before and after Modernization

The original Colorado Springs Airport terminal was completed in the mid-90s. Since then technology, airport services, security needs, and aesthetics have changed dramatically.

Our design updated the public area of the main terminal building from the tunnel entrance through baggage claim and ticketing up to the start of the security checkpoint. Upgrades included new LED lights, new and lightened interior details like white Terrazzo, new carpet, simplified columns, ceiling details, and new furniture throughout. Other important goals of the modernization were to bring the terminal into full ADA compliance and to improve way-finding for travelers.

The original building was dark with seemly-low ceilings throughout, even though the ceiling was 12’ high in some areas, large soffits containing mechanical and electrical elements made it seem as though the ceilings were much lower. The new design removed the soffits which gave the appearance of a higher ceiling, even though the ceiling was actually lowered by up to 8” in some areas.

The new LED lighting and design brightened the interior spaces of the building. Lights on the lower level and tunnel were designed to be 20%-30% brighter than lights on the main level. The brighter lights plus the new white paint help reflect natural light into the lower level of the building which in turn made the whole building seem even more spacious.

To bring the building into full ADA compliance HB&A redesigned the bathrooms with new toilet stalls, new fixtures, and accessories.

The new rental counters will be installed soon and we’ll update with more photos when they are done.

HB&A partnered with DWL Architects & Planners, Senger Design Group, Bridgers and Paxton, and Stanton Construction on the Colorado Springs Airport Modernization Project.

To view the “after” photo, click on each “before” photo below.

USAFA Cadet Fieldhouse Phase III

The completion of the design of Phase III was awarded in 2019 and HB&A has completed 35% of the design as of September 2020. Phase III focuses almost entirely on the Multi-Purpose track area of the building. Plans include replacing the old track with a new banked hydraulic one and renovating track and field team rooms, including new equipment and clothing storage areas. New additions to the Multi-Purpose Level include a sports training room and two new public restrooms. Other site improvements include exterior sidewalks, stairs and rails, xeriscaping, and upper HVAC in the basketball and Hockey areas. Finally, the existing freight elevator will be replaced with a new ADA compliant model that services all levels of the complex. Construction is expected to start in 2023. The two photos below show the existing track/Multi-purpose area of the building.

USAFA Cadet Fieldhouse Phase II

The U.S. Cadet Fieldhouse Phase II kicked off in 2017 with a 3-day onsite charrette, followed by design in 2018. Construction for Phase II is slated to begin in 2021. The two most visible changes during this phase will be upgraded glazing on the south façade that maintains the historical look-and-feel of the original building and a new entry vestibule and Ticket Office.  Other renovations in Phase II include the men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms, new track locker rooms, an egress corridor on the Participant Level, and completion of the mechanical systems in the other half of the building.  See photos of some of the areas that will be updated once construction for Phase II starts in 2021.