“I’m not interested in designing just another building.”
The impetus to reimagine architecture for the suburban office park.
Our goal was to create a new narrative for suburban office park developments—a narrative that considers the ecosystem of the workplace, addresses place as both singular and part of a larger context, and advances well-being through thoughtful and progressive design.
Though the architecture nods to nautical scapes through craftsmanship, materiality, palette, movement and affect, the design is born of its surroundings. Colorado mountain peaks are often reflected in its façade and Denver’s changing infrastructure, workforce and sociocultural landscape are integral to its programming.
Integrated Parking
By integrating parking within the building envelope, a technique common in denser urban environments, we were able to maximize site effectiveness while maintaining the aesthetic qualities of a singular structure. Six stories of office space sit on top of eight parking levels (two underground). Each level offers 30,500 square feet of column-free plates ensuring panoramic views from every floor.
Curtain-Wall Façade
The building exterior is skinned in a custom-engineered curtain wall. At the base, Sierra White granite panels provide cover for parking. As the building rises, high-performance, blue Viracon glass panels punctuate the granite, forming a pixelated pattern that reflects the surrounding environment. Aluminum caps and LED-lined fins are strategically placed across the exterior, and illuminate at night to add shimmer and contrast to the building façade.
Strategic Light Wells
To ensure core spaces—including centralized restrooms—receive natural light, we incorporated two 25’ x 35’ open-air light wells. While promoting a connection to the exterior and offering two open-air courtyards at their base, the light wells floods the center of each floor with daylight.
Dramatic Porte-cochére
Guests enter the building through a dramatic porte-cochére flanked by large, V-shaped columns. Inside the porte-cochére, an elegant glass fin supported wall provides a direct view into the marble-lined lobby.
High-end Finishes
The nautical reference extends to the interior lobby where veined marble mimics the movement of water, chevron tile nods to twist-braided rope, parallel plank ceiling resembles the weathered deck of a ship, and custom lighting design references ocean wind currents while guiding visitors through the space.
Moving Landscape
For the surrounding landscape, a monolithic palette of black granite, steel, concrete and wood is draped in drought-resistant ornamental grasses that move and respond to the wind.
Thoughtful Programming
The building offers a fitness center, bike storage, common conference rooms, semi-private ground level gardens and three rooftop terraces. Tenants and guests alike enjoy a continuous connection to the outdoor environment through day lighting, panoramic views, shared gardens, and the simplification of building access via bike and/or public transit.
Through 50Fifty DTC, we seek to reimagine the suburban office park. By extending our focus beyond cubicles and desks, we were able to design for the various ways in which people commute, interact with the structure, feel in the workspace, and connect with the surrounding environment.
