Colorado Hardscapes, Inc. | Case Studies | Commercial

Client Need:
This upscale student housing development near the University of Denver campus utilized some of Colorado Hardscapes’ finest products to create a stunning courtyard complete with one-of-a-kind paving, a fire pit, and an artistically-created water feature.

Colorado Hardscapes joined with Nuszer Kopatz (Landscape Architect), Kiewit Construction, and the property’s owner MacKenzie House from the conception of this job, through the changes made to give everyone involved the best value and product, to the completion in time for DU’s fall 2009 opening.

Solution:
The plaza paving evolved from white cement, which proved to be cost prohibitive, to a beautiful yet classic Capital Hill Sandscape Texture with accent fields and bands of colored Sandscape in complementing Carbide and Apache colors. These products were chosen after a visit to the Colorado Hardscapes’ Design Center to coordinate the building finish samples with the paving products available.

The walls of the water feature and fire pit complement the surrounding pavement. The water feature’s initial design called for boulders but these had the potential to put too much weight on the courtyard deck which was built above the parking garage. The boulder concept was not scrapped, however. The team agreed to use GFRC in a diGiacomo-designed piece of concrete art. An element of GFRC also graced the fire pit. The entire courtyard flowed with harmonizing colors and textures inherent in each feature.

Results:
In addition to the beauty of this project, it has the added benefit of being registered as a LEED Certified project.

For more information about this project visit their website.