At Arch11, a Denver architectural firm named AIA Colorado Firm of the Year for 2024, the relationship between a building and its site is paramount. “Genuinely great architecture does not just sit on a site; it engages with it, tells a story, and reveals its beauty,” says Ken Andrews, principal architect and partner at Arch11. Whether designing a private home or corporate headquarters, Arch11’s approach is rooted in site-specific, concept-driven, and resilient design, creating elevated works of art that harmonize with their surroundings.
Rather than forcing designs into unwieldy spaces, Andrews and his team listen to what the site necessitates. They study the land, considering how to optimize natural light, wind energy, ventilation, vegetation, and outdoor connections, and carefully balance maximizing solar gain in cooler months with providing shade in summer—all while crafting spaces that are emotionally resonant and architecturally striking.
Arch11’s philosophy prioritizes sustainability through modern forms, energy-efficient technologies, green materials, minimalist aesthetics, and biophilic design. Since designing Boulder’s first LEED Gold home in 2007, Arch11 has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation. It has completed dozens of LEED, Passivehaus, The Living Building Challenge, and Net-Zero energy-use projects worldwide, sources climate-responsive materials locally to reduce transportation emissions, and opts for nontoxic products to improve wellbeing. The firm’s upcoming project, Wild Bear Nature Center, will be Colorado’s first carbon positive nature center. “The net-positive building acts as a living organism,” says Andrews. “Its biophilic design offers opportunities to teach about nature and how we can inhabit and sustain the earth responsibly.”
