New Belgium Brewery Master Plan

New Belgium Brewing Company—brewers of Fat Tire and other great beers—asked Elements, the research and consulting division of BNIM, to work with them on envisioning a master plan for their 50-acre site in Fort Collins, Colorado. After a visioning session with their Board and key staff members, and through careful analysis of their existing facility and site, the joint owner-architect team created a master plan that is their day-to-day guideline for a sustainable future.

Already the only brewery in the U.S. to receive all of their energy from wind power, New Belgium’s master plan outlines how they can close the loop on their water and other eco-industrial uses. Through by-product synergy in their region, they hope to attract like-minded partners to their eco-industrial park.

With regard to their more immediate need for a Logistics Center, which would include increasing the capacity of their packaging and warehouse facilities, the fundamental goal of the design team was to wrap a building around a process that would allow New Belgium to continue to make world-class beer in the most efficient configuration possible. Site design also took into consideration the foundational principles of New Belgium to create a healthy beer culture. As the concept of a triple bottom line suggests, this master plan carefully balances all economic, environmental and social aspects of this site and this company.