Philip Shull, 75, arrived in Boulder in 1965 from Arvada, to attend CU. He has lived here continuously with life partner Christine Kimura. Shull’s father was an architect, and he has been fascinated by design and fabrication processes, especially woodworking, ever since his teens. After a short stint as a carpenter, Shull founded Deneuve Construction Services in 1973, and they’ve been constructing steadily ever since, delivering buildings in 14 states, including over 300 restaurants, grocery stores, medical clinics, custom homes, schools, churches, retail businesses, community centers, condominiums, and more recently, hundreds of affordable housing units throughout Colorado. The client list includes nonprofits such as Attention Homes, YWCA, Imagine!, and BMOCA. Shull recently sold a majority interest to David Garabed, in 2019.
Shull graduated from CU (’70), with a degree in psychology. While he is naturally curious about human motivations and the creative psyche, he lent this avocation to improving the built environment, and trying to nurture better communities through well-managed development processes. Shull got involved in many civic activities, including the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority which oversaw the redevelopment of Crossroads, and the St. Julien Hotel; CAGID, which operates the Downtown parking facilities; The Boulder Chamber, and its Community Development Council; The Boulder Planning Board, and Chautauqua Association Board.
Along the way, he and Christine have managed their historic home as a Bed and Breakfast; and ran the BookEnd Café and Riffs restaurant for 30 years on the Pearl St Mall. Those endeavors provided a home for his collection of “found objects” and architectural antiques. He loves classical music, jazz, crime mysteries, jigsaw puzzles, their small apartment in Umbria, Italy; his E bike, the finely honed essays of Ann Patchett and David Sedaris, and all of Christine’s cooking.