Schoolyard Beer Garden at Evans School
Denver
BEST PROJECT
Presented by Hyder Construction
owner Columbia Group
Leading design company Kemberlin Architecture
General Contractor Hyder Construction
Structural Engineer IMEG Corp.
MEP engineer MEP Engineering
Electrical contractor Encore Electric
After sitting vacant for decades, this adaptive reuse project transformed a 121-year-old school into a mixed-use community center while preserving its historic character.
Phase 1 involved a complete renovation of the ground floor of the 1904 building to accommodate a cafe, beer garden and flexible meeting spaces while retaining its original architectural and exterior features. A new network of MEP and life safety systems was intricately routed through limited historic cavities as, due to major constraints, services had to run from basement to roof without cutting new chases. The team worked with designers to locate existing cavities that could bring the floor-to-floor systems without compromising structural integrity or finishes.
To install a grease interceptor for a commercial kitchen, traditional exterior excavation was not possible as it would have risked undermining the foundation and added significant cost. Instead, the team turned a low basement crawl space into a functional area. High-pressure water and vacuum trucks were used to excavate with slurry more than 2,000 cubic meters of material in a confined space and short clearance. This area then had to be dried, compacted and reinforced before it could support a new concrete slab. To ensure safety during this process, specific protocols for confined spaces were implemented, including air control, entry controls and enhanced supervision. Workers also maintained constant communication and minimized time in space.
