Denver Union Station North and South Wing Buildings

Two complementary mixed-use buildings frame the iconic Union Station, thoughtfully integrating into Lower Downtown’s historic fabric while defining the edges of the city’s newest public plaza.

Size
100,000 SF each

Year
2013

Location
Denver, CO

Award
2014 NAIOP Colorado Award of Achievement, Development of the Year

Client
Denver Union Station

Historic Denver Union Station has become the new transportation and commercial hub of Downtown Denver. As the station was being renovated, a masterplan called for two new buildings to celebrate the landmark and frame a new civic plaza. AMD’s design response was the creation of the LEED Gold-certified “Wing Buildings”, two mixed-use office and retail buildings that create a thoughtful dialogue with the site’s context and historic architecture while defining the edges of Wynkoop plaza, the city’s newest and grandest outdoor room.

Given Union Station’s iconic status within Downtown Denver as well as the rich architectural context of the Lower Downtown Historic District (LoDo), the Wing Buildings strike the appropriate balance between modernity and history, contextualism and individual identity.  This balance is achieved by a design approach that reflects and is inspired by the existing fabric; the new buildings are scaled and proportioned to respond directly to the rhythms and regulating datum lines of the historic architecture. Simple building forms weave into the surrounding context with the use of masonry articulation and fenestration that blends contemporary and historic influences while modulating light on the building facades.

Programmatically, the buildings are designed to celebrate the public realm. On the ground level, lobby and retail spaces create active uses that animate the edges of the buildings and plaza. A grand stair provides access to trains while providing an outdoor space for gathering that is integral to the North Wing building.  On the upper levels of both buildings, terraces and balconies connect office functions to civic spaces while more transparent facades enliven the public spaces while literally reflecting the building’s historic context.

In collaboration with Semple Brown Design

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