To better serve a growing population, the city leaders in Aurora, Colorado, recognized the need to replace an outdated city hall with a new Municipal Center. Set on a sprawling site, a new 35- acre (14.1 ha) civic campus consolidates twenty- six municipal departments in an ambitious master plan that combines open space with a five-story, 286,000 sq ft (26,570 m2) building and an 800-car parking structure. The City Council did not want a “trendy�? facility, but, rather, one that would reflect the dignity of their rich governing tradition. An all- precast concrete solution provided the timeless look of loadbearing masonry appropriate for a government center and also offered significant schedule advantages over a steel frame structure. This article presents the plan, design, construction, and architectural features of this stately project, including a two-story precast concrete loggia and the state-of-the-art Council Chamber with 70 ft (21.3 m) clear spans, and a four-story parking structure. This fast track project took 26 months to be completed.
