The prominent urban site located along East Colfax Avenue was the first anchor development for the City of Denver’s Colfax Redevelopment Plan. The idea
was to create a vibrant urban center incorporating anchor tenants with a focus
on Music, Books and Movies. It was
envisioned that the synergy created between the two retailers and the movie
theatre would help to invigorate the neighborhood and work as a catalyst for
the revitalization of East Colfax
Avenue.The project’s components consist of new retail (25,920
square feet), a 203-space parking garage and a renovated historic theatre. The
design team’s intent was to reinforce the Esplanade (parking and fountain),
which fronts East
High School and connects
to East Colfax Avenue,
by placing the project on axis with it. A smaller Esplanade was created by
vacating the alley and converting it into an urban pedestrian street which
connects the two buildings with the garage.
To meet the developer’s needs, the site needed to be
built-out on all sides as well and the building’s height was maximized to a
bulk plane of 55’ above the street.The
resulting massing was an ominous partner to the historic Lowenstein Theatre
building which steps down from the flytower to a much lower massing at Colfax Avenue.
In order to resolve massing issues the design team
took small shifts to the garage structure, visually breaking it down into
smaller pieces. These elements were
either completely solid, open, or became part of the art piece.
Homage was paid to the original Lowenstein lobby
façade by taking critical datums from the old building over to the new. For
example, the metal clad entrance to the record store was a direct translation
from the theatre’s roof line on Colfax
Avenue.
Also, the prominent gallery windows on the Lowenstein were measured and
reinterpreted into a louvered truss/screening element on the upper level of the
garage.
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