Architect: MOA Architecture
Architectural Style: Neomodern
Year built: 2012
Designation: LEED Gold, NAIOP Colorado Academy of Excellence 2012 Office Development of the Year
Photo Restrictions: No
Structure
The corporate home of this Fortune 500 health care company stands out as the flashier younger brother of nearby 1900 Sixteenth. DaVita’s glass is a little brighter shade of blue; it sports a wedge-like element on one façade, and its roof seems to float at a beguiling slant. While continuing the Neomodern aesthetic of the district, it is differentiated just enough through the use of bold elements, while working to complement the more restrained form of 1900 Sixteenth.
The building encompasses 260,000 square feet on 14 floors plus underground parking for 250 vehicles. More than 900 teammates are employed at the world headquarters. The seventh floor provides training space for the thousands of teammates who attend DaVita University classes each year.
Unlike traditional offices which reserve the top floors with best views for corporate-level offices, this building’s top floor features the DaVita Marketplace, a full service kitchen and dining area with panoramic mountain views and the largest rooftop terrace in downtown Denver. The Marketplace helps promote healthy lifestyle choices by offering healthy and affordable lunch options. To enable the Marketplace to hold 800 teammates at once, the 14th floor required structural reinforcement and a top floor plate that could accommodate heavy foot traffic, additional exits, and allow a constant flow of people.
Three separate outdoor terraces provide teammates with easy access to fresh air. Design plans took advantage of the building’s collaboration areas and open wall spaces and transformed them into places where teammates and visitors can learn more about DaVita’s mission, core values, history, and culture. Media displays and galleries are located throughout the building. Additional amenities include three two-story atriums and a state-of-the-art fitness center which helps create a healthy and collaborative work environment.
Many building features are the result of several initiatives to keep teammates involved throughout the design process: more than 1,000 teammates throughout the U. S. were involved. One small group worked in a variety of different workspace setups over the course of the year and voted on the type of layout and materials they liked best. The small group’s preferences were incorporated into the cubicles in which many teammates work today.
Construction Challenges
One constraint was that this building is part of a multiphase mixed-use project. 1900 Sixteenth is the first phase and includes underground parking across the full site as well as elevator and stair cores for the second building. The DaVita building was designed and built within these constraints. Light rail tracks ran adjacent and through the site, which needed to be realigned before construction of the northwest portion of the building could begin. Track removal was on a different timeline than the building construction, and DaVita did not want to compromise their timeline so the northwest portion of the building had to be constructed on a different schedule. That portion was built separately.
Architect
MOA Architecture was established in 1981 by principals Robert Outland and Kiyoshi Murata. They currently have offices in Casper, Wyoming and Denver. 74% of the firm’s projects, spanning 32 years, are from repeat clients or referrals from existing clients. In addition to the DaVita HQ, their projects include the Nighthorse Campbell Native Health Building at Fitzsimmons, the Casper College Music Building, the Patriot Park Office Building in Colorado Springs, and the Bioscience 2 Building on the CU Medical Campus.
The Company
DaVita is a leading provider of kidney dialysis care. Other business divisions include medical network, international, and pharmacy. Revenue generated in 2014 was nearly $12.8 billion, and rose to nearly $13.8 billion in 2015.
Growth
The company relocated its headquarters from California in 2009, and started with only 150 employees in Colorado. In 2016 the company employed 1,780 workers in Denver and 2,423 in the state. DaVita will be the lead tenant in the new 16 Chestnut building across the street from the headquarters. The company has signed a lease for 11 floors, which covers 265,000 square feet of the 420,000 square foot building and is being developed by East West Partners. The $190 million building is expected to be completed in 2018, and will be 250 feet tall with 19 stories.
The Neighborhood
Union Station Neighborhood development encompasses the former rail yard, which existed between Union Station and the current rail freight line (Consolidated Main Line). This area is often referred to as part of the larger Central Platte Valley. Official city designation for the Union Station neighborhood includes the area from the river to Larimer Street between Cherry Creek and 20th Street, including the Lower Downtown Historic District. However you define the boundaries, the area is experiencing some of the most dynamic urban development in the nation.
References
Guide to Denver Architecture by Mary Voelz Chandler; DaVita World Headquarters by William E. Mosher Development magazine Fall 2014; DaVita Expanding by Alicia Wallace Denver Post October 11, 2015; DaVita’s Second Tower by Aldo Svaldi Denver Post August 26, 2016.