Mike M. Moore

Michael M. Moore is the principal of Tres Birds, the innovative Denver architecture firm that has risen to prominence since he founded it in 2000. Known as visionary who seamlessly integrates architecture and art with environmentally-sound methods, Moore’s transformative work exemplifies his belief that architecture can create a better world.

Moore and his firm’s multidisciplinary design approach can be found in more than 100 projects ranging from mixed-use developments and corporate headquarters to net-zero energy homes and museums across the U.S. and internationally.

Consistently, Moore utilizes unexpected building materials to create dynamic results, often repurposing discarded wood and metal into new and beautiful structures. His commitment to sustainability is broad and deep. “Utilizing energy from the sun and reducing fossil fuel use is the basis of everything we do. That’s why I started Tres Birds,” he says. “Every project is an opportunity to create symbiotic relationships between humans and natural systems.”

Moore has extensive experience with heavy timber buildings and construction methods. Many of their projects have been the reclamation of turn of the century heavy timber buildings in which a heavy-handed reworking of the buildings and their structure were necessary to transform the building for a change in use and modernization of daylighting and systems. These projects have required the Tres Birds team to reverse engineer the existing building then in turn reengineer the new program and spaces to wed with the vintage structure. Tres Birds has utilized reclaimed heavy timbers to construct new buildings with an eye to reducing the volume of timber required to produce the most efficient frame. All of Tres Birds heavy timber projects highlight the wood material by leaving it exposed, raw, and purposeful.

In addition to projects nationally and internationally, Moore and his team have designed more than 35 buildings in Denver and 28 in Boulder, and currently works with Denver Public Arts helping to realize some of the city’s most outstanding public art projects. Moore’s firm is also uniquely equipped to build the projects it designs, due to his comprehensive knowledge of construction, which draws much appreciation from his clients.

Born in Milwaukee, Moore's career formally began at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied both environmental biology and fine art. With a desire to merge ecological systems science and modern design principles, he completed a Masters in Architecture at the University of Colorado Denver. Prior to beginning his firm, Moore was a project designer and manager at J. Logan Architects in Boulder.

His ability to blend exceptional design with positive social impact has caught the eye of museum curators. A prototype of his light-and-temperature-regulating terrace screens for his Lumina residential building in Denver is currently on view at the Denver Art Museum in The Light Show through November 29, 2020. Previously, the work of Tres Birds was presented at the Denver Art Museum in the exhibition Design Lab in 2012.

Moore’s buildings in Denver are featured in a new book, Cool is Everywhere: New and Adaptive Design Across America (Abrams, May 26, 2020) by the internationally recognized photographer Michel Arnaud. Gernot Minke recently published his fourth addition of Building with Earth: Design Technology of Sustainable Architecture (BIRKHAUSER Oct, 2021) which features one of Tres Birds net zero energy projects in Boulder CO.

For a complete portfolio of Tres Birds projects under Moores leadership please visit www.tresbirds.com