AFD Building Design Open House

AFD Building Design Open House May Monday, May 2, at 6pm and Tuesday, May 3, at 12pm.

If you are curious about the design options for the Alliance Française de Denver’s (AFD) home at 571 Galapago Street, please plan to attend one of our two virtual design open houses next week.  We’d value your ideas, suggestions, and participation, and feedback!  

Since 2003 the AFD as a cultural organization, has played an important role in the urban life and architectural landscape of Denver. In the spring of 2021, the north wall of the building collapsed while excavating along the foundation to fix a drainage problem. The building is currently closed and AFD is in a temporary location while considering its next steps. These range from selling the property, to rebuilding the collapsed wall, to renovating the north wing with some improvements, to full demolition of the north wing and building of a new wing in its place.

The Alliance Française de Denver hired Christine Huckins Franck, Architect to assist them respond to the partial collapse. During the Phase I work, currently ongoing, she is guiding AFD to envision the best path forward and analyzing options in terms of function, cost, and schedule to determine which will best restore the Alliance as the anchor for French culture in the Denver metro area. She will be showing her preliminary work. Once a direction is determined, the AFD will carry out the architecture design and construction work in Phase II.

Phase I work includes reviewing and summarizing project parameters, determining current and future space needs with AFD constituents, developing a project vision with accompanying sketches to illustrate options, including options to upgrade parking and building energy efficiency, and cost estimates for each.

Design options to be considered include:

a.       Rebuilding – Rebuild the 45-foot-long north wall, foundation, and approximately 12 feet along the northeast and northwest sides to meet the structural engineer’s recommendations with repairs to interior systems, as needed.

b.      Renovating – Rebuild as described above and revise the interior plan configuration and exterior façade design, upgrade impacted systems such as electrical and HVAC to improve function and energy efficiency and improve quality of construction.

c.       Build a  New North Wing – Demolish existing north wing, redesign it and its connection to the central building to meet AFD’s current needs and future vision, build new north wing, upgrade new systems such as electrical and HVAC to improve function and energy efficiency, and improve quality of construction.

The Phase I process will include working closely with the AFD Building Committee, consultations with various constituencies of the AFD, and design open houses to present ideas to the broader community.

About the Architect

Christine Huckins Franck, Architect, LLC is a Denver-based architectural firm specializing in traditional and historic American architecture. Franck brings an extensive professional network to each project to ensure her client’s projects are executed with all professional standards of care. Unique to most architects, she has worked for many years in the architectural non-profit and educational sector in both executive and board roles and as such has experience with the strategic visioning required to help AFD plan for its future. Learn more about our architect here: www.christinefranck.

This is an online event.  Please register, and a link to the meeting will b sent to you on Monday, May 2