Case Study

Jack A. Vickers Boys & Girls Club at the Nancy P. Anschutz Center | Denver, Colorado

Jack Vickers is known as one of the most influential men in Colorado, a man who made his riches in oil and his name by bringing big-time sports to his native state.

But for the kids in the Northeast Park Hill area of Denver, the name of Jack Vickers will be associated with hope.

The Jack A. Vickers Boys & Girls Club is part of the Nancy P. Anschutz Center and is a beacon of light in a neighborhood that has more than its share of underserved youth. The complex, in fact, was built on land that once housed a shopping center devastated by gang-related arson in 2008.

And if the Vickers Boys & Girls Club is a beacon of light for the 250 at-risk young people it serves on a daily basis, then Kalwall is helping illuminate that message.

Kalwall translucent wall panels are a featured design element in the recreation room and the gymnasium, providing the beautiful and welcoming day-lit space that has helped make the facility what John Arigoni, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, called “truly the best and safest facility we’ve built in 52 years”.

The Anschutz Center and the Vickers Boys & Girls Club, designed by OZ Architecture, earned the Mayor’s Design in 2014, and is the fourth ground up project for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver that Kalwall has been involved with.

Approximately 1,800 ft2 of Kalwall panels were used in the gymnasium and 450 ft2 in the recreation room.

“Kalwall was a perfect fit for the project on many dimensions,” said Brent Powers of Powers Products in Denver, the region’s Kalwall distributor. “Diffuse natural daylight provides an ideal environment for the youth development activities that take place daily in both the gym and recreation room. From a design perspective, Kalwall fits harmoniously into the façade with gently curved arched top heads and nighttime backlighting that creates a stunning effect.“

The Boys and Girls Club was also keenly interested in the ability to save on electricity and HVAC costs through use of this highly insulated system. Kalwall panels delivered, producing a U factor of .23 with a light transmission of 20 percent and a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.28.