Category: News Featured

Blog Post: Doors Open Denver 2017

Posted on by 360 Engineering

What a weekend for Doors Open Denver!  In true Colorado fashion, we received a sizeable snow storm on Friday into Saturday, but that did not hinder locals and visitors from participating in this annual, free two-day event, April 29 & 30.  Organized by the Denver Architectural Foundation, Doors Open Denver provides an opportunity to explore some of Denver’s iconic spaces, including many historic buildings and spaces with unique architectural design.  Many of these sites are not otherwise open to the public. With nearly 70 sites to visit this year, it was tough to hit them all in two days, so here are a few highlights.

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church

Location:  1280 Vine Street

There was special interest in visiting St. Barnabas since 360 Engineering was involved with the most recent renovation, along with Anderson Hallas Architects’ team.  Originally built in 1891, the church has undergone several renovations and additions over the years.  Most recently in 2016, there was a full remodel of the parish hall, including classrooms, office and work space, and a commercial kitchen, plus an opening up of space between the existing sanctuary and Fellowship Hall to accommodate the growing congregation.  Staff members are so excited about the recent remodel, especially the commercial kitchen addition to use for special events and outreach ministries; and updated HVAC ventilation which offers better cooling/heating options for their offices and classrooms.

  

The Governor’s Residence at Boettcher Mansion

Location:  400 E. 8th Avenue

Built in 1907, “Colorado’s Home” was designed and constructed by prominent Denver family, the Cheesman’s.  Unfortunately, Walter Cheesman died before the home’s completion in 1908, and upon Mrs. Cheeseman’s death in 1923, it was sold to the Boettcher family.  Claude Boettcher died in 1957, and his wife the following year.  The home was then offered to the State of Colorado to be used as the Governor’s residence.  Although the gift was initially rejected by the state, accused of being to lavish for a public servant’s residence, the state eventually accepted it as the official Governor’s residence.  The tour was complete with a sighting of our current Governor walking around the outdoor patio on a phone call!

  

The Sugar Cube Building

Location:  1555 Blake Street

The Sugar Cube Building, built in 2008, is a modern ten-story neighbor to the historic 1906 Sugar Building, which was home to Great Western Sugar Company.  This modern structure’s exterior was designed to fit into the historic district and features retail space on the first floor, offices on floors two through four, and luxury apartments on floors five through ten.  Those residents living in the Sugar Cube Building, not only have full-service concierge, gym memberships, parking, and storage, they also have incredible views of Denver and beyond.

  

A special thank you to the Denver Architectural Foundation and all the volunteers who made this event possible.  It’s evident there’s a lot of work that goes into organizing this wonderful event!  To learn more about Doors Open Denver and this year’s sites, visit their website:  http://doorsopendenver.com/

Press Release: 360 Engineering President Wins Two Achievement Awards

Posted on by 360 Engineering

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4/25/2017

CONTACT INFORMATION
Kimberly MacArthur Graham
Layer Cake Creative
720.836.7117
Intelligence@GoLayerCake.com

Woman Founder of Local Mechanical Engineering Firm Wins
Two Achievement Awards

Golden, CO – Award-winning mechanical engineering firm 360 Engineering has two new accolades to add to its rapidly growing array. Company founder Denise Dihle has been named to two prestigious lists: Top Women in Energy, compiled by the Denver Business Journal (DBJ); and Enterprising Women of the Year, by Enterprising Women magazine. In both cases, the winner was determined based on qualities such as company growth, mentoring and leadership, and community involvement.

In January, Enterprising Women magazine notified Dihle that she is one of their 2017 Enterprising Women of the Year, joining a prestigious group of female entrepreneurs from across the U.S. and internationally. According to the award letter, Dihle was selected from hundreds of nominees based on the financial success of her business, her commitment to mentoring and supporting other women in business, and her community leadership.

In March, DBJ included Dihle on its annual list of 40 Top Women in Energy, which recognizes leading women in the Denver metro area working in a variety of industries within the energy sector.  A special issue of the Journal profiled each winner on April 14, followed by a VIP reception and awards ceremony on April 19.

360 Engineering’s Dihle said of winning the two awards, “In 2016, 360 won two awards for our work and I didn’t think that could be topped. This year, I’m even more humbled to receive two personal awards.  All of it was won just as much by my terrific staff and our clients. I could not have achieved any of this without them.” To other women either in business or dreaming of it, Dihle offers two things she’s learned, “First, be over-prepared so you can avoid pitfalls and jump faster than others at opportunities. Second, don’t let large risks keep you from making decisions.  Evaluate, prepare for the worst-case scenario, then jump off the edge and don’t look back.”

The latest recognition continues the firm’s award-winning streak. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected 360 Engineering as its USDOE’16 Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year and the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) named 360 its Small Company of the Year for 2016.

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ABOUT 360 ENGINEERING
Founded by Denise Dihle in 2003, 360 Engineering offers mechanical engineering, prime consulting, and energy modeling and sustainability services. They work with commercial, government, and civic clients across the U.S. on projects of all sizes. In addition to numerous commercial projects for clients including 1st Bank and Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, the company’s portfolio includes work on high-profile sites such as the Colorado State Capitol Building, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus, and several national parks including Yellowstone (WY), Glacier (MT), and Apostle Islands (WI). 360 Engineering has a reputation built on providing excellent and responsive service, careful listening, and treating all clients as valued long-term partners.

Project Highlight: Yellowstone Canyon Village Area Lodging Redevelopment

Posted on by 360 Engineering

 

Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming hosts approximately 4 million visitors each year, many of whom elect to stay overnight. Of the Park’s several accommodation areas, Canyon Lodge and Cabins is the largest, offering approximately 500 beds including the cabins. The National Park Service decided to undertake a two-year redevelopment of the aging Canyon Village Lodge. The old cabin complex was demolished and five new three-story buildings were built, providing more than 400 rooms including two-bedroom suites.

The design team was tasked with providing heating and ventilating systems for the new buildings, including the main lodge of approximately 38,000 square feet. The Yellowstone Canyon Village Area Redevelopment was a unique project using pre-fabricated rooms and systems that were dropped into place, then the mechanical systems were connected and completed.

The mechanical design utilized high efficiency condensing boilers with a high delta T to optimize the boiler efficiency and reduce pumping horsepower. The heating water system also supported the large domestic hot water load for the building. The building was designed for winterization of the mechanical and plumbing systems by allowing all the systems to drain down in a simple maintenance order. Design provided a winterized gravity drain down system (plumbing and hydronic heat) for entire lodge. The challenges presented by the winterization drain down required significant coordination with the integrated team for the solution. Throughout site visits, 360 Engineering sat down with the winter caretaker/head maintenance person to review the design early-on to make sure the buildings were easy to maintain and winterize based on his resources. Buried by snow in the winter, the lodges re-open with snow pack. Access to the mechanical room and seasonal start with snow pack was another concern during design.

Working closely with the entire team, including Yellowstone maintenance personnel, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc., Barker Rinker Seacat Architects, and equipment manufacturers, 360 Engineering delivered effective, efficient mechanical systems.  Awarded LEED® Gold for four buildings and LEED® Silver for the larger registration building and lodge.

Read further on how hoteliers are using prefabricated building methods in an article by JLL, which also mentions this Yellowstone Canyon Lodge and Cabins project:  Why prefab building methods stack up for hotels