MerJ Architecture

MerJ Architecture is an architecture firm at 6145 Broadway in Denver, Colorado that works exclusively for the cannabis industry. Co-founders Nicole Delmage and Satto Rugg, both principals, met through their work at the same architectural firm and formed MerJ around a shared interest in cannabis design and cultivation; Delmage holds an M.Arch from Dalhousie University and Rugg an M.Arch from the Southern California Institute of Architecture. The team includes project architects Alejandra Baltodano, Nick Cecere and Greg Gibson. The site does not give a founding year. Its FAQ lists active licenses in Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon, with California and New Mexico pending.

MerJ designs cultivation facilities (indoor, outdoor and greenhouse), extraction and processing plants, R&D and cGMP testing laboratories and dispensaries. Services include programming and throughput analysis, staff and process workflow planning, cGMP zoning, phasing strategy, site and building security plans, odor mitigation plans, procurement, interior design and full construction documents. Its portfolio names LivWell and Medicine Man dispensaries, MedPharm laboratories in Colorado and Iowa, MedCannaBliss, a Nature's dispensary in Milliken, Colorado, and an outdoor grow in Arizona. It also supports licensing applications and simple change-of-occupancy permits.

Engagements are phased. A paid feasibility study includes an intake call, preliminary site analysis, a planning department meeting and a review of local and state cannabis building rules. Stage I covers concept design and licensing under a fixed fee, Stage II produces permit and pricing documents, and Stage III provides construction oversight. MerJ says fees depend on project size, complexity and site, and it does not publish them. It works alongside cannabis business and cultivation consultants and with the client's chosen contractor.