Colorado Mesa University’s Hotel Maverick will Benefit from a Unique Design Solution

BUILDING DIALOGUE

Colorado Mesa University’s hospitality program has enjoyed significant growth over the years and the university is preparing to open a “teaching hotel” during the first quarter of 2020 as a result. The transformative project is defined not only by the unique experience it will provide to students and guests, but also the distinctive architecture and use of materials that will purposely set it apart from the material vernacular of other main buildings on campus.

Kurt Basford, AIA
Associate, Davis Partnership Architects

Unlike other university academic buildings that utilize traditional materials such as stone, concrete and masonry for construction facade detailing, Davis Partnership Architects envisioned a unique materiality of the Hotel Maverick to set it apart. The hotel will boast a contemporary theme that integrates an ethos of the modern West. The overall shape of the building design brings a connection of the hotel guest rooms and the amenity functions, or a confluence of the two programs. This is a loose translation of the confluence of rivers that occur in Grand Junction. The separate programs are represented by separate building materials. The amenity wing to the east is clad in fiber cement panels and concrete masonry units while the hotel wing is clad in the Dizal aluminum siding product. These materials bring a sense of modernity to the region while staying true to the Western roots of the city and region.

Bob Cujé
President, Modern Materials

One of the key elements of the hotel’s design is wood, or faux wood to be exact. Nothing speaks to Colorado and Western architecture as much as the look and colors of real wood grain, however the harsh Colorado climate makes the use of real wood a challenge. University buildings are designed and constructed with the intent of lasting 50, 100, or even 200 years on campus. Thus, the fragility of real wood is rarely used due to the annual maintenance and upkeep required. The Hotel Maverick is benefitting from a faux wood material that has not only provided a long term solution, but provides the exterior of the building with the look and feel of Colorado and the West that emanates from the digitized wood images that are laser printed onto aluminum panels. The high-definition images create photographic quality reproductions of natural wood with improved wood grains in an unlimited range of color variations and actually improves upon nature’s varieties of real wood with color highlights and variegated patterns. As a guest views the building, the grain looks as natural as real lumber.

Nothing speaks to Colorado and Western architecture as much as the look and colors of real wood grain, however the harsh western climate makes the use of real wood a challenge.

The particular faux wood being used for the Hotel Maverick is Dizal Facade, installed vertically in a narrow plank format with a flush-panel condition. The color was customized to reflect the existing natural timber of the region. These faux wood panels are designed to meet code standard NFPA 285 for fire safety and the aggressive ASTM weathering criteria for UV stability. The color retention and quality is backed by a warranty that outline all performance standards. The long-term protection against wind loading, fading and hail resistance provide the ownership security for weatherability, fire ratings and a continuously clean and new appearance – all things that real wood can’t possibly deliver.

Upon completion, the Hotel Maverick will serve the Grand Junction community as the area’s only boutique hotel, and will serve the mission of the university as the only hospitality teaching facility in western Colorado. Guests will enjoy exemplary service from teams of young professionals who are learning and perfecting their craft. Students in multiple disciplines will receive hands-on experience in food service, hotel management, business development, marketing and event planning. It is a forward-thinking project, not only in terms of the progressive hospitality experience it will provide to visitors and the innovative instruction it will deliver to students, but also in the creative design solutions it is providing to the university as a whole.

Published in the March 2020 issue of Building Dialogue.