Union Tower West

This $100 million mixed-use development consists of four intertwined uses: hotel, office, retail and parking. It features a 180-room select service hotel, 100,000 square feet of Class-A office space, ground floor retail and 208 parking spaces. The program results in a project that continues the ideals of a walkable, livable, vital urban environment reinforcing the street life of the city.

Design Challenge

The building’s form and orientation maximizes views of the Rocky Mountains, the city and Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The building is organized as a stacked series of program elements: the active commercial ground floor, three levels of sloped-floor parking, four hotel levels, and four office levels. The three parking levels lift the hotel and office above the adjacent projects to further enhance views and daylighting. The design reflects the innovative and pioneering spirit of the Mile High City. Innovative façade technology optimizes energy usage and comfort through high-performance glazing that also serves to enhance views from the project. Increasing the building’s glazed area maximizes daylight into the office spaces, minimizing the need for artificial illumination. Additional sustainable design concepts employed, such as rainwater collection, smart controls, high-performance equipment, green roofs, and use of local material helped this project achieve its LEED Certification.

Physical Context

Situated in the “LoDo” District of Denver, at the heart of the redevelopment known as The Commons, this mixed-use project becomes the link from the new Union Station Multimodal facility to the reinvigorated area north of the station. The project interacts with the existing and planned urban context by creating a new public space at the visual termination of Wewatta and 18th Street. This landscaped public space is defined as an urban loggia, serves as a pedestrian entry-court to the building and will be utilized for outdoor dining and events.