Kirkland Move By the Numbers

On Sunday, November 6, the existing Vance Kirkland Studio building will move via six sets of remotecontrolled articulating wheels from the original site to the location of the new Kirkland Museum of Fine
& Decorative Art in Denvers Golden Triangle Neighborhood. Kirkland Museums new facility near the
Denver Art Museum and the Clyfford Still Museum is on schedule to open in fall 2017.
Kirkland Museum is working with Mammoth Moving & Rigging Inc. and Shaw Construction to
meticulously and gently prepare the building, load it onto the movers and transport it eight blocks west
to its new home. Below is a list of facts and figures associated with the move.
About the New Museum

Kirkland Museums evolving collection contains over 30,000 works by more than 1,350 artists
and designers.

Kirkland Museums new building will have approximately 65% more display space for its three
collections (international decorative art, Colorado and regional art and works by Vance
Kirkland), arranged in its signature salon style.

The new building will have three floors. The public display space of the new museum, including
an expanded Museum Store, will be one floor. The new museum will also have second floor
offices and a lower level for facilities and collections storage.

A brief timeline:
o In 2013, 10 years after the museum opened to the public, it became clear that in order
to best promote international decorative art, Colorado and regional art and Vance
Kirkland, a larger building would be necessary.
o In January 2014, Kirkland Museum announced plans to move the museum to a new
building to be built at 12th Avenue and Bannock Streets in Denvers Golden Triangle
Neighborhood near the Denver Art Museum and Clyfford Still Museum.
o Almost two years after that, ground was broken for the new building on September 10,
2015.
o For 12 weeks between May 3 and July 15, 2016, seven temporary art handlers expertly
assisted the Kirkland Museums Collections Team of three staff members in packing
over 850 boxes as we emptied Vance Kirklands studio and art school building in
preparation for its move to Bannock Street this fall.
Many items are stored in existing Kirkland Museum vaults at the museum and additional
shelving was added in exhibition areas for added storage. Additional boxes and items
are stored at off-site storage and at the University of Denver. The museum addition at
1311 Pearl, which will not move, continues to be used by museum staff and for storage.
The total number of objects packed, moved or stored this summer is 5,276.

A total of 863 boxes were packed with 3,897 objects.

A total of 808 unpacked objects were moved into open shelving to be curated
for the new museum.

A total of 317 furniture and sculptural pieces were stored.

208 paintings were taken off view and stored.

Each objects location was tracked and updated through our collections database.
o

Kirkland Museums new facility in Denvers Golden Triangle Neighborhood is on

schedule to open in fall 2017, just four short years after the ideas inception.

About the Construction

The structural steel of the new building is 232 tons.

More than 800 yards of concrete are being used in this project.
41,538 cubic yards of soil were moved during the construction of the new building.
Project workers included:
o 30 ironworkers at peak steel construction
o 6-10 electricians
o 40-man concrete crew on largest pours
The project duration is 19 months.
2,558 square feet of glazing will be used on the windows of the new building.
The drawings include 244 drawing sheets to date and over 1,600 pages of specifications.
The move involves 15 major companies. By the end of the project, including the move and
build, there will probably be more than 50 companies with contracts. Plus, there are 20-30
vendors used to procure materials.
2,433 steel pieces have been used including:
o 467 beams
o 119 columns
o 13 for stair flight components
o 1,834 miscellaneous
By the end of the project, the total man hours will be around 150,000.
So far, there have been over 560 hours of crane operation time.

About the Move

The movers will use six sets of articulating wheels which will move the building slowly, while
adjusting the height of the supported structure. The wheels are controlled remotely by an
experienced operator.
o The studio will be supported by a patchwork of steel beams positioned under the
building. The two largest beams are W14x257 steel carrier beams that run the full
length of the studio. That number indicates that the beam is roughly 14 tall and weighs
257 pounds per lineal foot for a rough total weight of 7.7 tons each.
Mammoths estimate of the building weight is around 300,000 pounds or 150 tons.
The building will move approximately 1.1 miles.
The route passes through 13 intersections with street lights.
The building will travel at approximately 2-5 miles per hour.

For more information, please visit www.kirklandmuseum.org.