Denver has grown into a commercial and development hotspot. The rise of businesses in the region has resulted in a boom for contracting firms. New businesses require these services while setting up office spaces, and older ones frequently need a partial remedy.
The companies featured below are known for their innovative approaches to creating modern, high-performing community spaces with a dynamic, appealing ambiance. These companies are considered leaders and pioneers in their fields because of their ability to push the envelope, earning accolades from industry organizations and special features in respected publications.
Semple Brown Design
1160 Santa Fe Dr, Denver, CO 80204
Since 1982, Semple Brown Design has expertly integrated form and function. Sarah Semple Brown, FAIA, co-founded the firm, carrying the recognized quality, depth, and warm aesthetics that its founders are known for. The team comprises 20 industry experts, six of whom are LEED-accredited professionals. The firm’s varied portfolio has been featured in over 30 publications. Semple Brown Design is committed to a collaborative approach and the potential to develop communities via a tangible sense of place.
The firm was named Firm of the Year by the local and regional AIA Denver and AIA Colorado chapters for contributing to the city’s architectural landscape. From stunning cultural icons like the Ellie Caulkins Opera House to high-functioning, modern office spaces, Semple Brown’s attention to detail makes it a prominent presence in Denver’s overall architecture scene.
Tryba Architects
1620 Logan St, Denver, CO 80203
Tryba Architects, self-described as civic architects with a zeal for sustainable urbanism, has expanded from its roots in restoration to a flair for building and crafting progressive urban environments in Denver and abroad over the last 29 years. The firm was awarded the ULI Global Award for Excellence for Denver’s Union Station and AIA Western Mountain’s Firm of the Year. David Tryba, an FAIA Fellow, has provided leadership on projects throughout North America and Mexico. Since returning to his home state in 1988 after working briefly for Beyer Blinder Belle in New York City, he has left his mark on numerous notable structures in Denver’s urban profile.
From its roots in conserving and restoring Denver’s famous and iconic buildings, the firm currently develops and produces new urban places and structures around the country, having designed, restored, and maintained over $3 billion in projects across almost every sector. It has also appeared on the pages of renowned publications like Colorado Real Estate Journal, 5280 Magazine, ColoradoBiz Magazine, The New York Times, and Architectural Record.
OZ Architecture
3003 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80205
OZ Architecture has a history dating back to 1964, and it has distinguished itself as a prominent company that takes on high-value and challenging work in brand design, architecture, and interior design. With over 170 people on staff, the firm has served the academic, hospitality, commercial, residential, and corporate sectors. Regional and national publications, including Colorado Biz, ENR Mountain States Magazine, and Building Design + Construction Magazine, have highlighted the company’s design brilliance and its standing as an emerging firm capable of competing with industry giants.
The firm’s expertise has expanded in the United States and globally from its RiNo location in Denver’s famed arts district. The business has built and created current and future landmark projects in the region as an architect and designer for the corporate and office industry. Its portfolio includes award-winning projects that have received Mayor’s Design Awards, Woodworks Design Awards, and an overall performance that has earned it the title of NEWH Top Interior Design Firm.
Rowland+Broughton
1830 Blake St, Denver, CO 80202
Rowland+Broughton is a forward-thinking, high-design studio. With offices in Aspen and Denver, Colorado, its mountain and urban perspectives influence and improve a diverse range of projects, such as custom residential, commercial, hospitality, interior design, and master planning.
R+B, founded in 2003 in Aspen, Colorado has gained a reputation as a critical thinking design firm with a body of highly creative, diversified design solutions. Its hands-on, bespoke project approach has resulted in a remarkably high number of repeat clients and a high project success rate, regardless of the complex environmental or community conditions.
R+B’s team of experts holds memberships with the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), International Interior Design Association (IIDA), US Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). It was also named one of the 2020 Denver-Area Largest Architecture Firms by the Denver Business Journal and among the 2020 Top 25 Design Firms of ENR Mountain States.
Shears Adkins Rockmore
1550 Wynkoop St, Suite 100, Denver, CO 80202
Shears Adkins Rockmore is a Denver-based architecture, planning, and interior design studio established in 2002. It specializes in the design of urban projects, with its work based upon proven planning, urban design, and architectural principles. SA+R specializes in the creation of active, connected, and vibrant places. It is united in purpose to imaginatively fulfill the needs of its clients and community through the highest level of design and execution of its work.
Founding Principal Chris Shears has directed the design efforts for many of Denver’s more substantial new projects, representing a value of over $1.5 billion. He undertook significant urban projects in prior roles, maintaining involvement throughout the design, documentation, and construction process. SA+R holds memberships under his supervision under the American Institute of Architects and the Capitol Hill United Neighborhood. Its projects have also been featured by Fast Company, 9NEWS, Westword, Archinect, Denver Gazette, and Hospitality Design.
Davis Partnership
2901 Blake St, Suite #100, Denver, CO 80205
Davis Partnership Architects provides institutional, corporate, governmental, and individual clients with complete project planning, design, and management services. As one of Rocky Mountain West’s most prominent and influential multidisciplinary architectural firms, its professional staff provides a range of architectural services, including urban design, landscape architecture, interior design, tenant development, and environmental graphics.
Leading Davis Partnership Architects are principals Ann and Gary Adams. Ann has 30 years of experience in the health care industry, completing renovations, additions, and replacement facilities for hospitals throughout the country. Gary is a licensed architect in 37 states and has led design teams in health care, education, and commercial projects throughout the United States. Under their leadership, the firm’s experts hold memberships under organizations like the American College of Healthcare Architects, the American Society of Interior Designers, the International Interior Design Association, and the Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Fentress Architects
421 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203
Curtis Fentress launched Fentress Architects in 1980, and the firm now has studios in Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, and Houston. Fentress is widely recognized for his award-winning designs of airports, museums, conference centers, laboratories, higher education facilities, and civic and government structures. It also creates office buildings, mixed-use facilities, religious structures, and residential constructions.
Fentress Architects has created $43 billion in public architectural projects worldwide, which are visited by over 650 million people each year. It has received over 550 awards for design excellence and innovation, including the most recent AIA Western Mountain Region Design Awards 2020 Twenty-Five Year Award and the Architizer’s A+Firm Awards 2020 Best Firm in North America Award.
4240 Architecture
3507 Ringsby Ct, Suite 117, Denver, CO 80216
4240 Architecture, a mid-sized firm in Denver’s RiNo area, has created a core practice centered on design innovation, client service, and remarkable results. 4240’s portfolio includes mixed-use urban infill, multifamily residential, commercial office, active senior living, higher education, resort, and hotel projects.
4240 uses a charrette-based process inspired by clients to identify site-specific, economically practical, and culturally sensitive designs. Principals Matt Cecere, Michele Raftery, Andy McRae, Christian Barlock, and Louis Bieker lead the firm. Under their direction, 4240 holds memberships with the U.S. Green Building Council, the Institute of Classical Art and Architecture, and the Urban Land Institute of Colorado.
4240 Architecture also piqued the interest of several publications and has gained multiple press features. Some of these periodicals are Colorado Construction & Design, Colorado Real Estate Journal, Forbes, Colorado Construction & Design, and Urban Land.
Eppstein Uhen Architects
1899 Wynkoop St, Suite 700, Denver, CO 80202
Eppstein Uhen Architects is a national architectural and engineering design company that creates spaces that help individuals reach their full potential. EUA’s staff is unrivaled in their dedication to the markets, communities, and clients they serve.
EUA is a Milwaukee-based architecture, engineering, and design firm with offices in Madison, Green Bay, Denver, and Atlanta. This 115-year-old company focuses on workplace, health care, learning, living, science, technology, industrial, and community environments, and it is a member of key organizations to foster information and connections.
Under Ryan Wallace’s leadership as principal and with over 250 employees, this multifaceted firm comprises over 125 registered architects, nine registered engineers, and more than 50 LEED-accredited professionals. EUA is a recipient of the ENR Best Projects Awards’ 2020 Best Project Award of Merit for Interior Design and Tenant Improvement.
Clutch Design Studio
309 W. 1st Ave, Denver, CO 80223
Clutch Design Studio is an award-winning architecture and interior design firm on a mission to create incredible additions to the built environment. Founded in 2011 by Matt Robertson, its approach combines innovation with human experience to create lasting value for our clients, community, and the environment.
Matt is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the American Institute of Architects. He works across all aspects of the design process, from project management to team building, creative problem solving, and business development.
Clutch Design Studio has also garnered several awards for its exemplary work. Some of these are the 2020 Design Excellence Merit Award by the AIA Western Mountain Region, the 2019 Award of Distinction by AIA Colorado, and the 2019 Mayor’s Design Award by the City of Denver Community Planning & Development.
Acquilano
1600 Stout St, # 200, Denver, CO 80202
Acquilano is one of the oldest Denver-based design studio companies. It has concentrated on developing and improving office spaces since its start in 1986. As architects specializing in a full-service and comprehensive practice for the corporate sector, its design approach focuses on a simple yet streamlined process: “listen, then create.” This approach allows the company to address the unique needs of its clients’ specific brand and how the new design can visually embody the vision and mission of organizations while also ensuring that functional and building performance aspects are met.
Aside from interior architecture, the practice also provides documentation, furniture specification, lighting design, sustainability, well-being design, workplace strategy, planning, and programming. Acquilano’s works have appeared on the pages of Office Snapshots, The Colorado Springs Business Journal, Colorado Real Estate Journal, and Colorado Construction and Design Magazine.
Arch11
1200 Bannock St, Denver, CO 80204
Arch11, founded in 1993, is known for its accuracy, craftsmanship, and a modern sensibility that links structures to their settings, increasing the sensation of materials and place. The company believes that its ability to incorporate sustainable design ideas and outstanding technical skills into its projects sets it apart. Its collaborative, innovative method mirrors its success, and its staff sees themselves as perpetual learners, makers, teachers, and mentors.
Under the supervision of principals E.J. Meade and James Trewitt, Arch11 designs modern environments for play, work, living, and learning. It works between the intimate scale of the bespoke home and the complexity of a corporate headquarters, artfully crafting each place. The firm holds memberships under the Boulder Green Building Guild and the American Institute of Architects. Some of its works have also appeared on the pages of renowned publications like Denver Life Magazine, Colorado Real Estate Journal, ENR, Denver Business Journal, and Associated Construction Publications.
tres birds workshop
3821 Steele St, Unit B, Denver, CO 80205
Tres Birds is a Denver-based full-service planning, architecture, and general contracting firm. Tres Birds, launched in 2000, offers dynamic designs for a better future by fostering sustainable communities, preserving wildlife, and igniting creativity.
Tres Birds is free to create the most outstanding results because there is no need to declare a signature style. The firm’s transformative initiatives, which span architecture, art, engineering, and science, get to the heart of beauty, timelessness, and biodiversity consideration. Mixed-use developments and corporate headquarters are among the projects, as are net-zero energy houses, museums, and public parks. Each one is intended to benefit the people who visit it and the surrounding nature.
Tres Birds is a recipient of the 2019 Silver A’ Design Award Winner for Architecture, Building, and Structure Design Category by the A’Design Award & Competition. Its works were featured by the New York Times, Art Forum, Ascent, 5280 Magazine, and Metropolis.
Venture Architecture
535 E Mexico Ave, Denver, CO 80210
Venture Architecture has a small team that knows how to leverage its small size to produce huge outcomes. Although this firm is smaller than others with a broader reach or footprint, its work is diverse, bright, current, and creative. Martin Goldstein, LEED-certified Principal Architect, received his Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado. Mr. Goldstein collaborates with a trained team of professionals who are members of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ).
Venture’s mission is to discover each space’s intrinsic beauty regardless of the challenges. The company has designed and restored commercial offices and multifamily residences using its exact understanding and imaginative eye. As its work evolves, the company will gain a stronger foothold among Denver’s trusted go-to design firms.
Venture received the Architect of the Year Award from the Architect of the Year Awards and the Interiors Workplace Award from the Rethinking the Future Architecture, Construction, and Design Awards.
