“Approximately eight years ago I met Gary Desmond when he was the principal in charge of his Denver based architectural firm, AR-7. Gary happened to be present at a Downtown Denver Partnership meeting at which I was in attendance as well. It so happened, soon after that meeting, a prospective new tenant for our building (Walgreen’s Building/16th Street Mall, Denver) surfaced which required significant tenant improvements to accommodate their desired space in the building.

It seemed to me Gary was the perfect fit to act in the capacity of an owner’s representative for this assignment. Ultimately, as it turned out, we did not conclude our transaction with this tenant. However, Gary’s efforts in our behalf, for this project and subsequently the expansion of our first-floor space by an existing tenant, were so impressive that we continued to work with him to facilitate a similar, although expanded, scope of services with a new second-floor tenant.

I can’t think of an individual with the portfolio of skills Gary Desmond has developed over his career that would represent a more complete package for landlord or tenant representation. Gary is mature, extremely disciplined, knowledgeable, responsive, pro-active and commonsensical in his judgment. It gives me great pleasure to unequivocally endorse him as an outstanding professional. ”

“Dear Gary…… I am pleased to provide you with a reference letter to AR7 for the work that you did in designing the first phase of Campus Village Apartments at Auraria. Since this was the first student housing that was developed adjacent to the campus, it was certainly a much more difficult assignment for us all. We had no residential context to build from and at that point, the three institutions on the campus were inexperienced with housing, even though there were close to 40,000 students. There was the extra challenge of designing a building that fit into the campus but was also not so institutional in its appearance that it felt awkward for a residential experience.

You and your staff worked closely with others involved in the design process to understand the needs of the students that we wanted to attract to the development as well as the larger student life objectives that would be fulfilled through the common area design. The result is a lively residential community that feels “right” for the students we are serving. The units themselves work well, whether they are studios, or4 bedroom units and everything in between. The courtyard and all of the common areas provide nice public spaces for activities that are planned by the staff to generate a sense of community among the residents.

Another challenge to this process was that this was a Design Build project so your real employer was the contractor not Urban Ventures. While this can be a tricky relationship, somehow AR7 managed to walk that fine line, recognizing that Urban Ventures intended to stay very involved with the design of this building. There were certainly moments of stress along the way, but overall, the relationship worked well and what resulted speaks for itself. We’re appreciative of the work of AR7.
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“Thank you for taking on the challenge of designing the new Mile High Station Post Office. On behalf of the entire Justice Center team, thank you for your collaborative spirit and the firm’s concern with architectural integrity and building function. As I move on to other projects, I will always be thankful of our collaboration and success. It has been a true pleasure working with you and I look forward to our paths crossing once again!
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“Gary ………….. You analyzed our Engineering building, constructed in 1985; you patiently reviewed program needs with occupants; you developed schematic plans to accommodate those needs; you revised plans; and, you prepared the drawings to execute the expansion and renovation, while always keeping functional aspects in perspective. I am particularly impressed with your ability in collaboratively working with the members of the University, and with the Department of Engineering and Applied Science, to reach consensus on programmatic needs. All the members of your organization have a real affinity for working well with others. In addition, your design team was most thoughtful and thorough in designing a beautiful building that will truly enhance the immediate area. In that regard, you went through a rigorous micro-master planning process to insure the proper placement of the building.

Please accept my sincere appreciation for a job well done. Not only have you designed a building of distinction, your working relationship has always been most amenable and fair. I would welcome future associations on other projects, and look forward to the continuance of this project with the design of Dwire Hall. Needless to say, I unhesitatingly and unequivocally recommend your firm for future projects, either for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs or for any other potential client.
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“I wanted to write to tell you how much we appreciate the substantial effort you and the entire AR7 team made in designing and building out the Center for Advancing Professional Excellence at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus…………… You also listened to a broad constituency of current and desired users of the CAPE and made an inclusive process in the design of the CAPE come together and succeed! Upon moving in to the space in December 2007, we were able to directly experience how well it is designed and how much capacity it has! We also recognize it was no easy design as we had to accommodate three different programs and staff in a highly integrated space. We also had unique and challenging design issues that your team quickly understood and embraced. The double set of halls, the acoustics, the simulated spaces that can serve multiple purposes, the technological capacities all had to work in this space and they do! You also worked closely with our software team to make sure we were all on the same page and communicating the plans to each other. It all came together seamlessly!

The functionality and innovation of the space are already receiving rave reviews locally and nationally and not only from the School of Medicine, but from all the programs and schools we work with, from pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing, physician’s assistants, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and many residency programs and other clients!

The real test comes every day when we use the space and we all have nothing but rave reviews for it! Thanks so much for all your team’s efforts in learning, researching, communicating, listening, designing, facilitating, and finally leading the build out of this excellent space we proudly call home and the CAPE!

I hope my colleagues in health professions education get to utilize your skills and team’s gifts in the design and build out of their projects!”

“Designing a building is something that should reflect the values and dreams of the community and those who will be working in that building. Designing a school is even more important because not only does the design need to meet the values and dreams of the community, parents and teachers, it needs to be designed to be flexible enough to meet the changing requirements for educating students over many years.

Golden High School moved into its new high school a few months ago and it is a beautiful building. Our new facility was designed by the architectural film of AR7 Architects. Parents and teachers are a very passionate group. Each group has their own ideas about what is needed to make a great school. AR7 had a talented group of architects and designers who understood how to take all of the ideas and suggestions and turn them into a design that everyone would love. AR 7 had to work with a very small building site, a tight budget and maintain the operations of the existing high school during the construction.

The results are a high school that retains and highlights the history and traditions of the oldest continuing high school in Colorado. The results are also a high school that is designed and ready to meet the educational needs of students for the 21st century and be the centerpiece for the community of Goiden and the Jefferson County School District. It was a pleasure to work with AR7, a film that was creative in its design work, meticulous about the details and willing to work with all the stakeholders. AR7 Architects have the knowledge, ·skill and professionalism to make dreams a reality.”

“The Highland District Housing has been operating in full swing for the past year, and is a wonderful addition to the University of Arizona campus. The residence halls have revitalized a campus streetscape in an area previously occupied by University support facilities. The surrounding development has also been completed, transforming the area into a student-centered environment, well integrated into the campus community. It was an exceptional experience to work with AR7 on this project. We commend your dedication to both excellent architecture, and to the University of Arizona.”

“Gary: The staff at Red Rocks Community College has enjoyed working with the staff at your firm since this project has started. Gary’s staff came to Red Rocks with an energy and commitment to understanding the philosophy of our business and with a genuine appreciation of what the new construction and building needed to represent. The new building will be used as a symbol of the colleges new direction. Your understanding of that direction made the process of design much easier and enjoyable. We also appreciate your firms understanding and willingness to work with so many staff from the College during the design stages. Knowing this level of participation was more than normal for most architectural firms I was not sure how this would succeed. Your staff continuously made this effort more of a pleasure and not a burden which it easily could have been.”

“I have had the opportunity to work with Gary Desmond and his team for two projects, at Red Rocks Community College in the late 1990s and at the Community College of Aurora for a current project.

The Red Rocks project remodeled and added new space to the Learning and Resource Center, as well as remodeled some other instructional spaces. In fact, this project not only provided more and more appropriate space, but it transformed the entrance to the campus and the entire arrival experience. As I return as a visitor to Red Rocks today, I am struck by the impact of that project and its appeal 13 years after its completion. I also vividly remember our working relationship with Gary and his firm, then Hoover Berg Desmond. They brought creativity and patience to the project. They understood our need to include our many constituents and our need to focus on our many customers. And they were able to balance the challenges of the existing and the new, the traditions of and the changes to practices, and the fears and excitement of faculty and staff. They also clearly understood our business, our constraints, and our opportunities. The projects were on time and on budget. The impacts were remarkable.

It was because of that experience over 13 years ago that I was excited to once again work with Gary and his team on our new project for Community College of Aurora’s Lowry Campus. Lowry is a challenging project in multiple ways: our buildings are spread out and disconnected; we project a poor arrival experience; our spaces are large and inefficient; the campus lacks any cohesion; there is little. sense of place; there is no real campus identity; we are disconnected from our neighbors to the east, west, south, and north; and the campus is intimidating, not inviting. Furthermore, though the buildings are large, we lack appropriate space for classrooms, labs, and services. Add our lack of adequate funding and the need to stage our projects, and
you have a complex and difficult project that, if done well, will be transformative. Hence our choice of AR7.

They have the experience, knowledge, and service to tackle this project. Gary Desmond, as the principal, has been available whenever needed, by phone or in person, to meet with our executive team or with our constituents. They have worked with us over the last year-our timeline, not theirs-to prepare a Strategic Development Plan that creates a campus for learning for the future. We are now in the planning process for the first phase of this plan, adjusting to our budget realities that have shifted more than once, with construction to begin this year.
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