One River North @ Colorado USA

PROJECT AT A GLANCE

Classification: Mixed Development Location: Colorado, USA Approx. Project Cost: Undisclosed Approx. Commencement Date: 4Q 2021 Approx. Completion Date: 2H 2023

Artist impression: One River North project is currently under construction in the River North Art District of Denver, Colorado, USA, has the potential to become the city’s next architectural icon.

(Source: MAD architects)

ONE RIVER NORTH

Beijing-headquartered global architecture firm MAD Architects and the principal development team of The Max Collaborative, Uplands Real Estate Partners, and Wynne Yasmer Real Estate have broken ground on One River North, a 16-storey residential tower in Denver’s River North Art District (RiNo). Known for its street art and dense concentration of galleries, brewpubs, and trendy eateries, the formerly industrial enclave was heralded as “America’s most improbably cool neighbourhood” in 2018. Located at 3930 Blake Street opposite the 38th and Blake RTD light rail station, One River North marks MAD’s third completed or under-construction project in the United States and its first outside of the Los Angeles area. The firm’s first, Gardenhouse in

Beverly Hills, was completed in the summer of 2020 while the swooping spaceship-like Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, originally planned for Chicago and now located at L.A.’s Exposition Park, topped out earlier this year and is slated to open in 2023 following

COVID-prompted delays. Another MAD-designed project, a 22-storey biomorphic Hollywood office tower dubbed the Star, was unveiled in September and is currently seeking city approval.

DESIGN COMPOSITION

One River North, which will include 187 for-lease residences, is slated for completion during the latter half of 2023. One River CREDIT LIST

DEVELOPER: R Cap Blake Street LLC ARCHITECT: MAD Architects; Davis Partnership Architects CONTRACTOR: Saunders Construction

Artist impression: One River North features 13,352 square feet of open-air amenity environments, including rippling water elements and a landscaped, trail-like walkway that traverses across four floors.

(Source: MAD architects)

North takes the form of a largely straightforward rectangular glazed volume topping a base that will include nearly 8,000sq ft of dedicated retail space. However, in true rubberneck-inducing MAD fashion, a massive gash is carved into the tower’s fissured facade that cascades from the roof down through its midsection.

Described as a “landscape rift”, the chasm spans a total of 10 storeys and recalls the experience of ascending from the foothills to the trail and canyon, to reaching the alpine plateau. This playful referencing of alpine topography, in this instance the Rocky Mountains, is not new for MAD as One River North complements the far more low-slung design of Gardenhouse, which was designed to resemble a lush and rather mystical mountaintop villa.

The lower, horizontal half of the cleft will include a sloping, landscaped, trail-like walkway complete with rippling water components that extends four storeys (the sixth through ninth floors) within the chasm-within-a-tower. Above that is a nonaccessible vertical slot canyon stretching across the upper floors up to the tower’s roof. The roof itself is set to feature a 6,813sq ft terrace with a swimming pool, spa, and expansive gardens, that will provide One River North residents with an additional space to revel in the great outdoors without leaving the property. One River North will offer a total of 13,352sq ft of what the developers have called "open-air amenity environments" including the rooftop terrace and greenery-laced, scalable-in-parts ravine.

“If we regard modern cities as man-made landscapes on the earth, we need to design canyons, woods, creeks, and waterfalls, transforming concrete forests into second nature,” said Ma Yansong, founder and principal partner of MAD, in a statement.

“The nature-inspired design by MAD Architects was influenced by Colorado’s legendary landforms and merges nature and architecture to inspire a well-balanced life. Its glass facade is likewise ribbed with louvres that regulate sunlight and soften its visual presence, shaping a serene retreat in the sky,” added Kevin Ratner, co-founder of The Max Collaborative.

Joining The Max Collaborative, Uplands Real Estate Partners, and Wynne Yasmer Real Estate on the larger development team is Zakhem Real Estate Group. Denver-based Davis Partnership Architects joins MAD on the project design team while Saunders Construction is serving as the general contractor.

With non-outdoorsy features set to include a lounge with workspaces, a pet spa, and a three-level subterranean parking garage, One River North will offer a mix of one-, two- and threebedroom luxury rental units ranging from 625sq ft to 2,500sq ft. All residences will boast floor-to-ceiling windows and private open-air terraces to better take in Rocky Mountain views.

Artist impression: The sculptural crevice opens resident views and blends nature into the urban context.