There’s a lot of talk about creating a more sustainable future here on this planet, but less about doing so beyond the earth’s inner atmosphere. Enter Astroscale, which since 2013 has been working to advance safe and sustainable growth in outer space by extending the life of orbiting satellites and clearing the skies of hazardous space debris.
Founded and headquartered in Japan, Astroscale chose Denver for its U.S. headquarters. Located in South Denver, off Broadway and Evans, the company found its new office in the form of a 100-year-old building—once home to a metal foundry—featuring heavy timbers, a brick envelope, huge windows, glass block, and open spaces. The design intent of the 13,500 square foot renovation was to complement the existing structure and its history with an innovative office space inspired by traditional Japanese design and the science fiction of Star Wars and Star Trek.
After coming in second in the bidding stage, Pinkard was hired by Astroscale in the Spring of 2022 to save the renovation when the originally-hired contractor fell drastically behind in preconstruction. To quickly get up to speed, Pinkard worked closely and diligently with Astroscale and NeoEra Architecture to analyze the previous contractor’s preconstruction efforts and provide effective value engineering to get the design into budget.
“Pinkard spent a lot of time in preconstruction trying to match program and budget and still have reputable, ethical, trustworthy subcontractors,” says Astroscale senior vice president Becky Yoder. “I cannot say enough good things about the Pinkard team, how well they work together, and how transparent they were.”
One of Pinkard’s key goals was through design optimization and executing the project in a way that kept costs under a critical threshold, preventing Astroscale from having to conduct hundreds of thousands of extra flood gate work that would have been required by the city if the remodel exceeded the value of the building.
Of course, none of Pinkard’s savvy budgeting meant compromising on quality. “There were things that Pinkard wouldn't accept from the mill worker, so they had to go back and refabricate,” remembers NeoEra principal architect Emily Adams. “These weren't always the fastest solutions, but they were definitely the best solutions. I really appreciated that.”
As to whether those cost-saving measures came at the expense of the interior’s stunning, sci-fi-inspired design, the pictures speak for themselves.
“We came in on time and on budget,” says Becky Yoder. “This is my third building to finish out in the aerospace industry, and this was by far the best experience I've had. And considering the challenges with this old building, I would highly recommend Pinkard.”
