Touted as the nation’s first carbon-positive hotel, Populus recently broke ground in downtown Denver. Scheduled to open in late 2023, Populus is a 13-story, 265-room hotel with a rooftop restaurant and bar, all designed by Studio Gang.
Developed by Urban Villages, the triangular-shaped, 130,000-square-foot building will be entirely carbon positive, from construction to operations. Populus will minimize its carbon footprint in the development stage by using low-carbon concrete mixes and high-recycled content materials, maximizing structural efficiency, using fewer finish materials, and minimizing waste. The team will consider the carbon footprint of the origin and creation of the materials as well as their transport. The hotel’s overall use (operational carbon) and every guest stay will be offset, in addition to the building’s embodied carbon.
The project also will involve an offsite ecological effort, including an initial commitment to plant trees that represent over 5,000 acres of forest, offsetting the equivalent of nearly 500,000 gallons of gas.
With design by Studio Gang, and with the Beck Group as the architect of record, Populus draws inspiration from the area’s iconic Aspen tree. Studio Gang designed the hotel, its first building in Colorado, with eye-shaped windows that echo the Aspen eyes. As part of the overall green vision, “lids” over each window extend slightly outward to shade the interior, improve energy performance, and channel rainwater.
Inside, the windows change in size to reflect the public or private aspect of various spaces—with windows up to 30 feet high at the building’s base. In the rooms, the windows not only provide immersive mountain and city views but also serve as seats or desks, further connecting occupants with the outdoors.
“Improving the resiliency of our cities has never been more urgent—and it includes reducing carbon emissions as well as strengthening community bonds,” Jeanne Gang, founder of Studio Gang, said in a statement. “We’ve designed Populus to be a new destination in downtown Denver that combines these environmental and social ambitions.”
On the Building Team:
Owner and/or developer: Urban Villages
Design architect: Studio Gang
Architect of record: The Beck Group
MEP engineer: Klok Group
Structural engineer: Studio NYL
General contractor/construction manager: Matt Archuletta
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
AGC unveils comprehensive plan to revive the construction industry
The Associated General Contractors of America unveiled a new plan today designed to revive the nation’s construction industry. The plan, “Build Now for the Future: A Blueprint for Economic Growth,” is designed to reverse predictions that construction activity will continue to shrink through 2010, crippling broader economic growth.
| Aug 11, 2010
PCL Construction, HITT Contracting among nation's largest commercial building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Commercial Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Webcor, Hunt Construction lead the way in mixed-use construction, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 30 Mixed-Use Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Report: Fraud levels fall for construction industry, but companies still losing $6.4 million on average
The global construction, engineering and infrastructure industry saw a significant decline in fraud activity with companies losing an average of $6.4 million over the last three years, according to the latest edition of the Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report, released today at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Boston. This new figure represents less than half of last year’s amount of $14.2 million.
| Aug 11, 2010
First CityCenter projects earn LEED Gold
CityCenter announced today that it has received three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED Gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council for: 1) ARIA Resort's hotel tower; 2) ARIA Resort's convention center and theater; 3) Vdara Hotel. ARIA and Vdara will open in December on the Las Vegas Strip and are the first of CityCenter's developments to be LEED certified.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HDR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest institutional building design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Institutional Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Whiting-Turner, EMJ Corp. top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 40 largest retail contractors
A ranking of the Top 40 Retail Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Nonprofit healthcare providers turn to real estate for liquidity and to preserve capital, says Jones Lang LaSalle report
Long considered to be stable investments immune to recession, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are now feeling the effects of a cash-strapped economy as decreased charitable contributions are forcing nonprofit hospitals to pare back and seek new financing sources, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2009 Healthcare Real Estate Financing Outlook.
| Aug 11, 2010
Callison, MulvannyG2 among nation's largest retail design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Retail Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
