I can’t believe it’s been five years since I starting writing and taking photos for DenverInfill. It seems like yesterday we were watching the Ralph Carr Judicial Complex start to rise. To celebrate, I have three posts for 1401 Lawrence coming this week. Why three? DenverInfill was given a great opportunity over the weekend to go on an inside tour of 1401 Lawrence. Because there are so many photos to share, we have to break it up into three separate posts. Today, we will be focusing on the exterior.
1401 Lawrence is nearly topped out at 22-stories with the last floor of the mechanical penthouse underway. Throughout this post, you will see that last floor going in.
Let’s start off with some aerials! The glass facade is a brilliant change to all of the earth toned buildings around this area of Downtown Denver. When complete, the reflective glass will make the building almost invisible on a clear day.
Here is one more aerial from the Central Platte Valley. 1401 Lawrence adds some decent height to the Denver skyline.
Now for some ground level photos. It was partly cloudy this weekend making the glass stand out.
Viewed from Speer Boulevard and The Auraria Campus, 1401 Lawrence stands out in both height and reflectivity. I think we can all admit that this is a refreshing change.
Personally, I love the juxtaposition between the historic buildings of Larimer Square and the modern glass curtain wall that towers behind them.
The north facade is comprised of aluminium and glass, breaking up the symmetry of the solid glass. It looks sharp and has a neat feature which we will cover in our inside tour.
The solid glass facade actually juts out from the main structure; a first for any building in Downtown Denver.
Finally, let’s move in closer and check out the street level. The metal screening is starting to go up on the parking garage, masking the exposed concrete structure we see on most garages. We also get a neat pattern out of it!
Coming up next: the inside tour. Stay tuned!
I commute past the building every day. They seem to be moving quickly. I’m surprised somebody hasn’t been hit by a car on that block. with the second project on 15th, the bike lane, and construction workers jay- walking, it is quite dangerous. The city should care a bit more about drivers and the safety of pedestrians through this building boom.
I commute on foot here everyday. It is very safe for pedestrians since 14th is such a slow moving street for cars. I don’t see how someone could get hit by a car unless they were walking while texting and the driver was likewise not paying attention. The cars have to move slowly because there are so many pedestrians, like it would be in any thriving city. Ever walked or driven around NYC?
People are more likely to get hit on a street like 15th where there is the free, unimpeded flow of cars and traffic.
love the look. its a great aesthetic for central denver and adds some much needed height
I like how reflective the glass is. I think it makes the historic buildings on Larimer St. stand out even more since you don’t notice the building behind it; you just see the sky being reflected. It seems like the parking takes up a large amount of the building. Overall, I think it looks pretty good!
Those empty parking lots are in a very great location. Are there any plans to develop these parking lots?
Denver needs to create parking maximums downtown, at least. I don’t care how neat the pattern is, it will eventually look like the grimy Band-Aid that it is. Check out some of the older garages downtown for examples. Not to mention that having garage entrances for hundreds of cars cut through the sidewalk will do nothing for the life of the street.
I agree with you but with one caveat: Almost the entire ground floor of this building will retail, which will provide for a hugely attractive experience for pedestrians. Most, if not all, of the older garages around downtown don’t have that.
There are parking maximums, they just happen to be too high.
Wish it was taller, and with less parking. Hopefully Denver will get to the point where leasable space is more valuable than car storage.
Great looking curtain wall. Agree that it’s really helping the skyline on this side of town.
Why are so many people complaining about the parking? As long as there’s retail on the ground floor and the garage is adequately disguised, the number of levels of parking below the office space doesn’t matter one bit.