KL&A Engineers and Builders

KL&A's Nate Deanda, PE and Andy Paddock, PE, attended the Boulder Country Day School ribbon cutting on their new Commons Building, yesterday. The 11,000 sf, two story building contains a dining commons, art studios, STEM labs and a roof deck. Congratulations to all who were involved on this project, we are excited to see the positive changes it will bring to the BCDS campus and their students. Sopher Sparn Architects; KL&A Engineers and Builders; FCI Constructors, Inc.

As KL&A celebrates its 30th Anniversary in 2024, we are looking back and highlighting 30 influential projects in our history. The 16th Street Pedestrian Bridge over the South Platte River is one of three pedestrian bridges conceived in the early 2000’s as a means of creating a pedestrian connection between the historic Denver Highlands neighborhood and Downtown Denver. After the first iteration of the bridge was halted by the fabricator unable to finish the complexity of the bridge design, KL&A was brought on board as the Principal Consultant, challenging our team to modify the design to the extent necessary to facilitate construction, but conforming as close as possible to the original design, with a new, more limited budget. KL&A designed a new cable-stayed bridge design using salvaged materials, partially completed abutments from the original design, and employing a more than century-old center pier foundation originally constructed for a tramway bridge at that location. KL&A was the Principal Consultant on the project, providing the structural engineering as well as steel detailing for this cable bridge that frames Downtown Denver from the Highlands neighborhood. Influential to KL&A as it was one of the few projects in our history where we were the prime designer rather than a sub-consultant. Being the prime designer gave KL&A a true appreciation of the coordination that goes into this role. Being able to reuse existing materials and reduce embodied carbon is something that fuels us to this day, also presenting the challenge of designing to the pieces of what you have. A rewarding and eye-opening project filled with collaboration from many groups we don’t typically get to collaborate with, that is still heavily used by the Denver community. Project Team: KL&A Engineers and Builders, New Design Construction

Last week, a group from KL&A took part in Mortenson's 18th Annual T-Bone Memorial benefitting American Military Family! KL&A is proud to consistently sponsor and attend this event, giving back to our communities and having a blast connecting with our industry partners. Thank you to Mortenson, we will see you again next year!

KL&A is featured in the August edition of STRUCTURE Magazine! The article, titled "Circular Construction", written by Alexis Feitel, P.E. and Dan Bergsagel, features the deconstruction of the Boulder Community Hospital, and the successful stockpiling and reuse of it's structural steel. This project illustrates that at-scale deconstruction and reuse of structural steel components is possible and financially feasible. Through concerted efforts, strategic initiatives, collaboration, and reinvention the construction industry can pave the way for circular economy, embodied carbon reductions, and environmental stewardship. To read the full article, pick up a copy of STRUCTURE Magazine today, or visit: https://lnkd.in/e88xAjC3

KL&A is proud to announce we are in the Zweig Group's 2024 Best Firms to Work For! The firms are ranked based upon workplace practices, benefits, retention rates and more, with KL&A consistently placed in the top 10 structural firms since 2006. This year we have placed 6th in the Structural Engineering category, and 14th in the overall 100-199 Employees. A special thank you to Zweig Group, and to everyone on our team who makes KL&A a great place to work every day!

KL&A's 2024 Summer Site Visit Series is underway! Last week a group went to visit the nearly complete Northglenn City Hall! This 32,600 sf building is constructed of mass timber and is the first municipal building in Colorado to achieve CORE Green Building Rating certification. The facility will be Net Zero and will house the same divisions, departments and services as the current facility, along with City Council Chambers, two large public lobbies and two community rooms. Project Team: Anderson Mason Dale Architects, KL&A Engineers and Builders, FCI Constructors, Inc.

As KL&A celebrates its 30th Anniversary in 2024, we are looking back and highlighting 30 influential projects in our history. NREL’s Research Support Facility is a LEED Platinum and Net-Zero commercial office building. The 360,000 sf facility was the largest Net Zero project in the US at the time of its construction. The facility makes substantial use of daylighting, dramatically reducing energy use, and provides a pleasant and productive open space workplace. This world changing building features a foundation system designed to be an air labyrinth, Energy Star electrical and telecommunications systems, two separate buildings that run in an “H” configuration to maximize daylighting, photovoltaic (solar) roof, thermal building skin, and occupant-controllable windows. One of the most collaborative project teams with a common goal of achieving Net Zero, KL&A had the task of problem solving many things that had never been addressed before and thinking outside the box to bring the design team’s ideas to fruition, while staying in the realm of cost for a typical office building. Influential to KL&A as it proved that you could do energy efficiency in a cost-effective way. As KL&A’s first steel reuse project, taking reclaimed natural gas pipeline from a failed project in Louisiana and reusing them for columns, it became the founding of our interest in Team Carbon, mass timber, and steel reuse. An iconic building right in KL&A’s backyard of Golden, Colorado, that was truly ground-breaking and innovative in its time, and a career defining project for many KL&A engineers. Project Team: RNL Design (Stantec), KL&A Engineers and Builders, Haselden Construction

Today, with the NSPE, we celebrate the 9th Annual Professional Engineers Day! Since 1907, licensure has expanded and professional engineers across the US have made the commitment to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. KL&A is proud to have 59 professionally licensed engineers, across multiple of our disciplines. From Structural and Civil Engineers to our Construction Management and Steel Detailing departments, we know the value and knowledge that comes from being a PE and appreciate the standards the place our projects to every day. Thank you to KL&A's growing group of Professional Engineers, and thank you to all Professional Engineers in the industry! #LicensedPEday #structuralengineering #civilengineering #constructionmanagement #steeldetailing #engineering

With the 2024 Olympics currently underway in Paris, and the Paralympics coming later this month, we’d like to reflect on the award-winning US Olympic & Paralympic Museum. KL&A provided the structural engineering and steel detailing on this iconic 60,000 sf museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The museum features interactive exhibits, innovative displays and a vast artifact collection of some of USA’s greatest athletes. Featured during the Men's Synchronized Diving Event at the 2024 games, one of the divers shared that it was during a visit to the US Olympic & Paralympic Museum, that he regained his motivation to recommit to his sport and made it to the Olympics this year. A reminder that architecture and design contributes much more than a safe and functional space, but can inspire those in our community to greatness. Congratulations to all athletes competing at the 2024 Olympics, and Go Team USA! Project Team: Anderson Mason Dale Architects, KL&A Engineers and Builders, GE Johnson Construction Company

The Mass Timber Group Summit took place last week! KL&A was represented by a group including the keynote speaker Greg Kingsley and Chris Kendall speaking on Mass Timber in Multi Family Buildings. Many seminars, workshops and tours of mass timber buildings in the area took place, gaining insight knowledge and resources in designing & constructing cost-effective mass timber buildings. It was great to connect with those in the mass timber industry, including past, current and future clients, and to get reinvigorated in the world of mass timber! Thank you to the Mass Timber Group!