We check into the Populus Hotel by Studio Gang in Denver

When the architect behind Populus, Jeanne Gang, went hiking in the aspen forests of Colorado with Grant McCargo, a few things just made sense. “We had a real love of nature and an interest in the environment,” Gang says. “You could see in their previous work that they valued natural materials and a sustainable approach.”

(Image credit: Steve Hall)

Populus by Studio Gang: rooted in nature

The founding director of Studio Gang was tasked with designing a hospitality concept that McCargo and his team were eager to break new ground with at Urban Villages, an environmentally conscious real estate development company. The location they envisioned for the project was a prominent, if odd, triangular location in downtown Denver. Colorado’s first gas station was once located here.

The holistic approach of Urban Villages often leads to biophilic buildings that become examples of environmental protection. It fits perfectly with Studio Gang’s organic aesthetic and ability to shape structures into gently curving shapes that draw on the deceptive simplicity of nature – as in the renowned Chicago-based architecture firm’s previous projects, such as the Richard Gilder Center for Science , Education and Innovation, can be seen in New York and the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

(Image credit: Steve Hall)

This time the inspiration was arboreal. While hiking, Gang began to appreciate the white-barked aspen trees, particularly their striking “eyes,” which are scars left by fallen branches. This led to Studio Gang’s design for Populus, the Latin name for the genus of trees to which aspens belong and which became the hotel’s nickname.

(Image credit: Steve Hall)

The 13-story building resembles “a grove of trees with many eyes,” says Gang of Populus, with its striking silhouette and patterned façade. The facade consists of curved panels of glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC), a lower carbon mix developed in collaboration with Holcim, a leader in innovative and sustainable architecture and building materials, which accommodate a variety of three-dimensionally shaped window modules that double as rain protection and mimic the shape of the trees’ eye-shaped markings.

“You can do a lot more curvature,” Gang says of the strong, lightweight material. “This was done offsite and prefabricated by a local company.” In Studio Gang’s hands, the vacant lot’s unusual triangular shape became a blessing. “The aspen eyes frame various elements of the city.” Sometimes it’s something spectacular, like the State Capitol dome. “Sometimes it’s something you wouldn’t normally notice, but because it’s framed it becomes really interesting,” explains the architect.

(Image credit: Steve Hall)

Populus also has an impact beyond Denver’s cityscape. The hotel is LEED Gold certified (uses renewable electricity from wind farms in Colorado) and holds the title of the first carbon-positive hotel in the United States – an achievement achieved by eliminating traditional carbon-rich materials, eliminating on-site parking, and achieved the planting of over 70,000 Engelmann Spruce trees (and counting) in Gunnison County, Colorado.

(Image credit: Steve Hall)

Local materials and manufacturers feature prominently in Populus’ interiors, designed by Heather Wildman of Wildman Chalmers and executed in collaboration with Fowler Architecture & Interior Design. “We created a warm, neutral, cohesive palette of soft greens and browns,” says Wildman of the layers of storytelling found in the textures, objects and materials in the hotel’s guest rooms, public areas and two restaurants.

Reclaimed snow fencing from Wyoming adds warmth to industrial blankets; Over 500 reishi leaves grown from mycelium provide a sensory experience above the bar in the ground-floor restaurant Pasque; Terracotta tiles made from Platte River mud decorate some of the bar’s surfaces; and at the top floor restaurant Stellar Jay, a Yakisugi-inspired wall creates a tactile atmosphere. Meanwhile, the young Colorado firm Superbloom was at the top working on the garden design.

(Image credit: Steve Hall)

In a departure from the car-oriented nature of American city centers of the past – and in ironic contrast to the site’s original function – Studio Gang chose not to add street-level parking, but instead to activate each of the building’s three sides, making it more accessible to the local community and the Easier for guests to walk past and get in. “This is really a key piece of downtown,” Gang says of the new promise of this location. “And it’s the key to the future, connecting the theater district, Civic Center Park, Colorado’s state capital, the Denver Art Museum and the activity on 16th Street.” It’s the place that could help connect the dots .”

(Image credit: Steve Hall)

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