The Earthship Remodel

This unique house is located in southwest Colorado Springs, and as you can see the neighborhood is lush and beautiful! An "earthship" is a house constructed of recycled tires which are covered in stucco most commonly found in New Mexico. They are built to be independent of the electrical grid or in other words "zero energy."



The windows are tilted to allow sunlight deep into the house, warming it even in the winter (the passive solar technique). Unfortunately, there are some flaws with this design, including leakage around the edge of the windows. It turns out that now window companies won't even warranty windows if they are sloped like this. We're fixing the problem by putting in new vertical windows, which will give our clients more space inside and less exposure to the elements. The roof will extended to hang over the windows to protect them further.



As long as we're remodeling, our clients decided they might as well give the outside a new look too! We worked with them to reach this design for a quaint front face with tower and minerets. The tower is over the entrance and will feature a stained glass window, which will cast its colors inside during the day and be illuminated from inside at night.



This project is being bid at the moment - we're looking forward to its completion!

Home design trends

As architects we love to pioneer fresh ideas, but our job is also to give our clients what they want. That's why I was glad to see some of these trends in AIA’s (American Institute of Architect's) Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2009:

63 percent of respondents saw consumer interest in-home accessibility increasing
More homes are being designed so that is easier for elderly folks or people with disabilities to navigate them. Most or all of the living space is focused on a single floor; door, hallway and bathroom widths are widen enough to accommodate wheelchairs.

We like this trend because of the long-term focus. Many people may not require accessibility now, but as they age, sell their homes, or have disabled visitors remodeling won't be required to fit new needs.

Two-thirds of residential architects report increasing interest in low-maintenance landscaping (e.g. xeriscaping)
"Xeriscaping" literally means "dry landscaping" and is also refered to as water-conserving landscapes, drought-tolerant landscaping, zeroscaping, and smart scaping. Native plants are the focus here instead of plants which depend on daily waterings from a sprinkler.

We like this trend because it is eco-friendly and economical - so much water is wasted keeping large lawns alive! Additionally, the xeriscaping is much more natural and it really is beautiful.

Alamosa Town Center Article

Our project made the City paper again, with a longer front page article this time. Check it out here!

Alamosa Town Hall Center

Our proposal for the Alamosa Town Hall Center will be put to the vote on September 2nd! The city of Alamosa was planning a remodel to their current offices, but Darin Dolce of DFD Development proposes that instead they move into the former Kmart building. The Kmart building has significantly more parking, a more visible location and, unlike the remodel, won't require any of the historic buildings in town to be demolished.

As you can see by comparing this photo of the building to our poster, we are planning to completely change the appearance of the front. In addition to adding windows, brick and paint, a new grand entrance to a central atrium (complete with tower!) gives the building an old west train station theme.


Space inside the building would be sold in a "condo" arrangement to the city hall, the library and the police station and the remaining space in the building would be leased out for other office and retail uses.


The atrium at the core of the Town Center is designed to be a gathering space similar to an outdoor town square. Employees and visitors will be able to frequent the cafe and socialize.


LGA Studios worked with Darin Dolce to give the City of Alamosa a cost estimate along with the presentation drawings; we believe our project vs the remodel will save them enough money to make the move feasible. Our interior design partner, Lines and Designs, put together the presentation board.

With this project, we even made the local news!

Wild Ginger Thai

At the end of the year Wild Ginger Thai will be moving, and it's been our pleasure to help them with the design of their new location. They'll be going from their current 3,000 SF location in Colorado Springs to the 8,330 SF former Eagle Graphics building in Manitou.


View Larger Map

Wild Ginger's new facility is in the walkable community of Manitou. Consistently awared "Number #1" by The Independent for Thai food in Colorado Springs, Wild Ginger already has a large group of local customers. Now they will receive more exposure to tourists as well.

Their new layout gives them much more kitchen space, a dining area seating 106, and even leaves a small rentable space (anyone want to work next door to yummy Thai cuisine?). Later on Wild Ginger hopes to add on a bar to the restaurant space.



Those of you that have seen the Eagle Graphics building will be glad to know that we'll be giving the front exterior a face-lift in this project's next phase, probably with an appropriate Thai theme.

Lines and Designs is joining us on this project to assist in space-planning and to lead in interior design. Economically, Wild Ginger will be reusing much of their equipment and furniture, including their red vinyl booths. However, by adding a great color palette, a well-thought out table arrangement and chic lighting and flooring, we think this project will be able to compete with Lines and Design's work in Conservation Hardware earlier this year.

Erosion Control

Site work has begun on one of our LEED-H projects - a new house in the Broadmoor area with a lovely courtyard.


Intentional construction procedures are part of building an eco-friendly house. One of these is erosion control, or in other words, preventing the natural soils around the property from being stripped away.

Some photos of the measures we've taken are below. Stayed tuned for more eco-friendly construction facts!

Dream City 2020

This past Saturday LGA Studios, in partnership with Facility Lines and Designs and Peak Development Company Inc, participated in the Dream City 2020 competition.

Our entry was a poster for a project in the conceptual phase - Mesa Park. Already developed by the Peak Development Company, these 11 lots will be built with LEED-certified homes in different architectural styles.

There isn't another neighbor like this in Colorado Springs. These homes will be energy-efficient - which in fact will save the homeowner much more money each month than any additional mortgage, spent to put in items like energy-star appliances and solar panels during construction. They will be constructed with better quality materials - both for the environment and for their living conditions. They will be built so that the homeowners can "age-in-place," without remodeling to accommodate their needs as they get older. And they'll show that "green" homes are not limited to a couple of styles. We're excited about this project, so I'm sure you'll hear more about it as we make it a reality.

Dream City 2020 gave LGA Studios and Facility Lines and Designs a chance to formulate our ideas and present them. It's great that there are so many around this community desiring to discuss their visions to make Colorado Springs a better place.