Building Investment (March-April 2021)

Artist impression.
(Source: Studio Gang)
Artist impression.
(Source: Studio Gang)
Studio Gang has partnered with Denver-based real
estate firm Urban Villages in the design of ‘Populus’,
a new and iconic landmark that will be located next
to Civic Centre Park in Denver, Colorado.
The mixed-use project will introduce a vibrant new
social centre in downtown Denver, opening itself
up to both the city and to the Rocky Mountains
beyond. Its location along a prominent corner site informs the
triangular, wedge-like volume that greets the neighbourhood
equally on all three sides, welcoming visitors and residents as well
as connecting Denver’s civic, arts, and commercial districts.
The 159-foot building, which spans 145,000 sq ft over 13
floors, will host a 250-key hotel, 40 micro-apartments, a public
rooftop bar and viewing deck, event spaces, and an activated
ground-level lobby framed by windows which rise up to a height
of 30 feet. The textural and rhythmic façade is informed by the
building’s function. Each vertical scallop spans the width of a hotel
room, while its windows change in size in response to public and
private spaces.
Studio Gang designs ‘Populus’ with a distinctive facade that
expresses the patterning found on Colorado’s aspen trees. As
the trees grow, they shed their lower branches, leaving behind
dark, eye-shaped marks on the papery bark of their trunks. The
windows are further detailed to perform efficiently in the Denver
climate. On the exterior, the ‘lids’ of each window stretch outward
according to solar orientation to shade the interior, improving the
building’s energy performance. They also neatly channel rainwater
to keep the façade looking fresh over time.
Additionally, the building will have a green roof terrace
planted with regional vegetation offers extensive views at the
building’s top, providing a lush place to socialize and attractive
habitat for local wildlife and insects.
The project is currently in the building permit process, with
construction expected to begin later in 2021 with the goal of
delivery in 2023.
(Source: designboom.com)
Mar-Apr 2021 | www.b-i.biz 49