_________________________________________________________________________________________ Bonsai Design Build
bring in a third-party architect as one of the subcontractors. Our approach merges the two industries which tend to be very separate and brings a new level of professionalism to projects. In construction, relationships with architects can be contentious, often leaving the customer stuck in the middle.
“ The great architects like Antoni Gaudí and Frank Lloyd Wright would manage their own construction projects. For whatever reason we have moved away from this model. We’ re trying to bring it back because it makes for a much smoother process and enables us to deliver incredible architecture.”
Restoring good bones
Josh then reflects on the inspiration that the company draws from the ancient Japanese art of Bonsai, and how that relates to the design processes:“ It’ s about patience. Designing and building require a lot of patience. Often, we are working with old buildings, and you must look at them and see the possibilities of what they can become. This is very similar to Bonsai; the great Bonsai masters can take a rough looking tree from nature and through years of nurturing can craft into something beautiful. The process of architecture, design, and construction can be lengthy if you are going to create a beautiful building. There are many similarities.”
Josh then expands on some of the historical work Bonsai has become known for:“ Denver has a good stock of Victorian era homes. We have many neighborhoods with housing stock of this kind, and we’ ve had the opportunity to work with rehabilitating these great old buildings that have a very classic feel. Unfortunately, there are many cases of these buildings being demolished for modern replacements that I call stucco boxes. They are developer driven buildings designed to simply maximize square footage.
“ One of the things we like to point out when approaching this kind of work is that there is nothing more sustainable than breathing new life into these old buildings. The bones of the building are already there, and often the structures are very good. With a little love these buildings can be rejuvenated to the point where they will be enjoyed for another 100 years.
“ One of my favorite projects we’ ve done in this vein was in a neighborhood called
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