LECTURE:  We Came from Nothing to Something

How can design breathe new life into what already exists? Michael M. Moore, founder of Tres Birds, explores how his Denver-based studio turns overlooked buildings and infrastructure into beautiful, high-performing spaces. Known for its hands-on, experimental approach, Tres Birds works at the intersection of architecture, art, and ecology—often using unexpected materials and inventive construction methods to reduce waste and reveal hidden potential. Moore will share insights from two decades of adaptive reuse work that challenge conventional ideas about sustainability, creativity, and what it means to build “from nothing to something.”

ABOUT MICHAEL M. MOORE:  

Michael M. Moore is the founding partner of Tres Birds, a Denver-based architecture and design studio known for its visionary approach to adaptive reuse and sustainability. With a background in environmental biology, fine art, and architecture, Moore brings an ecological mindset to every project—blurring boundaries between art, construction, and environmental systems to create buildings that reconnect people with place.