Martin/Martin Wins Municipal/Cultural CFSEI Award for CSU Spur Hydro Water Project

Featured image: Colorado State University Spur Hydro Water project under construction in Denver, CO. Project profile provided courtesy of CFSEI. All photos courtesy of Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers.

Martin/Martin was the structural engineer-of-record and cold-formed steel (CFS) specialty engineer for the Colorado State University Spur Hydro Water project in Denver, Colorado. The building is a four-story steel-framed structure with complex geometry, driven by a “flowing water” theme expressed throughout the facility.

Dana Hennis (left), P.E., S.E. and CFSEI vice chair presents the CFSEI award to Shane Ewing of Martin/Martin, Inc.

Martin/Martin won a 2023 CFSEI Design Excellence Award for the project, taking third place in the municipal/cultural category in the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute’s award competition.

The CFSEI Award entry was submitted by Shane Ewing, Martin/Martin, Inc. Shane accepted the award for the Indigo Hotel project at the 2023 CFSEI Expo held recently in New Orleans.

One-of-a-Kind Facility

The Hydro building is one of three new facilities located on the Colorado State University Spur campus at the National Western Center. CSU Spur is designed to offer experiential learning opportunities to visitors of various ages. 

The landscape design of the CSU Spur Hydro Water building tells the story of Colorado as a “Headwater State” and highlights each of the eight watersheds in Colorado that feed necessary water supplies to 14 surrounding states.

The Hydro building offers a unique user experience in a one-of-a-kind facility. Inspired by the flowing nature of water, the building invites the public into the large entry lobby, connecting three levels through a spiral “river eddy” staircase to a bridge on the third floor.

The team designed Hydro to maximize the outdoor open space and preserve the historic McConnell Welders building, also situated on the site. The landscape design tells the story of Colorado as a “Headwater State” and highlights each of the eight watersheds in Colorado that feed necessary water supplies to 14 surrounding states.

BIM Ensures Coordinate in Field

Steel framing was used to provide a “flowing water” theme for the project. The Martin/Martin Construction Engineering Services (CES) team was not involved in the project until design was nearly complete. The CES team’s unique access to the structural design allowed for a smooth and delegated design process for modifications/accommodations from the design team, when needed.

Martin/Martin used Building Information Modeling data to ensure that the design was properly coordinated and achievable in the field.

The building’s exterior non-load bearing walls and soffits were stick-framed. Martin/Martin relied heavily on Building Information Modeling (BIM) data from the design team, steel fabricator and scrim contractor to ensure that the design was properly coordinated and achievable in the field.

Notable Project Features

Entry Soffit/Walls

The building’s entry features a curved, warping soffit that transitions from vertical to horizontal across its length. The varying support conditions throughout this transition resulted in numerous details to accommodate both gravity and lateral loading.

The transition from vertical to horizontal framing in the building’s entry presented challenges in accommodating slab/structure deflection. The feature was ultimately clad in an etched, mirror-like metal panel.

Exterior Scrim

The prominent north and east elevations of the building are wrapped in a flowing perforated metal panel, referred to as the “scrim.” The complexity of the scrim geometry and its support requirements compelled a highly coordinated BIM effort to ensure accurate layout of its framing. 

The feature stair in the building is inspired by a “river eddy” and is wrapped by framed fascia and soffits.

Interior Soffits and Bulkheads

The feature stair in the building is inspired by a “river eddy” and is wrapped by framed fascia and soffits. The fluid effect of the floating lobby spiral staircase was achieved by a combination of hanging the framing from the stair itself and by creating soffits and bulkheads framed from the floor structure.

Read more about Martin/Martin’s CFS details for the CSU Spur Hydro Water Project here.

Additional Resources

• Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute to Hold the 2024 CFSEI Expo in Tucson, Arizona (May 20-22, 2024)
• Martin/Martin Takes 2023 CFSEI First Place for Penn State’s Lasch Football Building Renovation
• eBook: How Cold-Formed Steel Framing Solves Design Challenges for Architects