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Populus @ Denver, USA
Artist impression.
(Source: Studio Gang)
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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.
