The Art Lab

The Laboratory of Art + Ideas at Belmar (The Lab) is an avant-garde contemporary art and art-education institution, located in a thriving suburb of Denver, Colorado. The Lab has become the cultural anchor of the community by fostering interactive experiences which engage the public to explore contemporary art and culture. Critical to the design was our understanding of the light-hearted demeanor of the The Lab as an educational institution and the eclectic nature of its events and programming. These qualities prompted flexible, space planning which could accommodate a several hundred person lecture as well as more intimate workshops for young children within the same room the next day. Through close interaction with the Director, Adam Lerner, his philosophy of making art accessible and entertaining was made clear and became the driving factor through the design phase. This led to the creation of several architectural objects which became identifiers of The Lab and symbolized the fervent disposition of the institution itself.

Project scope included a 11,500 sf tenant improvement of a pre-existing banquet facility into a cultural institution consisting of a lecture space, permanent and rotating gallery spaces, kitchen, and offices. The project features an undulating, fiberglass surface which greets patrons at the entrance then twists and folds throughout the lobby leading visitors to the exhibition spaces on the second floor.

Status: Completed 2006

Project Type: Commercial; Building Type: Adaptive Re-use; Cultural; Size: 11,500 sf

Location: Lakewood, CO

Partners: Hagy Belzberg, Brock DeSmit, Dan Rentsch

Project Manager: Bill Bowen

Project Team: Barry Gartin, Carina Bien-Willner, David Cheung, Justin Brechtel, Warren Bradley Lang

Photo Credit: © Joel Eden Photography

Awards:
2006 Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence

Publications:
M2 Interior Design 4 (China), Top Cultural Space (2) (China), Design Today (India), X-Space: Creative 100% Office (China), Vision (China), Spa-de, International Review of Interior Architecture (Japan), Retrofitting Suburbia, Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, 1000x Architecture of the Americas, BOB : International Magazine of Space Design (Korea), Interior Design magazine, Colorado Expression, Art in America, Urban Land Institute: Award Winning Projects