Staying in the Union Station neighborhood, let’s check in on Union Tower West, a hotel and office tower going up across the street from Pivot. From the initial renderings, we were very unsure on how the building would actually look from a materials standpoint.
That being said, every time I pass by this building, it exceeds all of my expectations. A brilliant blue glass facade is climbing up the structure and is now to the office level. The bottom four floors without glass are dedicated to parking. A four-story sheltered canopy will front the building with metal screening around the rest of the parking deck.
After 18th Street, Wewatta Street curves right were Union Tower West is going. To compensate for that, the sheltered plaza comes into play with the main building setback from the curve.
The back of the building has the same facade as the front however, there are no structural setbacks. The 1975 18th Street affordable housing project will cover up the back of the parking structure.
Union Tower West is going to be a complete success in the Union Station neighborhood with great height, form, and materials. I cannot wait to see the final product!
i love this building! my only problem is the hideous monstrosity that is the xcel building next door. that huge 2-3 story blank brick wall looks awful, but considering it was that or a lovely (sarcastic) view of the ugly steam plant next door, i suppose i can understand the design limitations. i wish they’d at least cover it up! perhaps with a steel design similar to the birds nest done in bejing for the olympics. it’s such an eyesore to the newly developed union station neighborhood.
Do you know something everyone else doesn’t? The renderings were never clear as to what the final is going to look like. Not sure why you think they won’t address that wall. It isn’t finished yet, so might be better to withhold judgment.
As far as I can tell, the Union Tower West side is going to be pretty cool. It’s going to have usable floor space in front of the blank wall, and some color elements:
Source
my apologies. i seem to have jumped the gun when commenting on the large, blank brick wall on the west. i will wait to see what the final design looks like before making another comment.
When I look at Portman’s website for this project and see their other projects. I’m impressed with a lot of the buildings they are building outside the United State. It seems the standard for the US bland.
And, unfortunately, the standard for Denver is even lower than the rest of the US!
Nice! But wait…oh look their all the same height. Reminds me of D.C.
There is no retail in this project, correct? I assume maybe a hotel bar, but nothing otherwise>?
According to the website for this project, there will be ground floor retail. http://www.uniontowerwest.com
Why is so much space in all of these new buildings being dedicated to parking – 4 whole floors literally right next to the freaking transit hub of Denver – and how is this not more problematic? Yes, parking is a necessity, but a 1/3 of the building designated for empty cars? If all the projects downtown are completed as proposed, surface parking lots are indeed being removed, but Denver is getting ever more addicted to cars and may rival LA not only for traffic but for pollution — we already make the top 10 list. I am all for infill, but I would rather see vacant lots than cathedrals to parking capped by poorly designed (admittedly, an opinion) office buildings.