2009 - Studio Project

National Competition sponsored by Trespa & AIAS

Project Site: (chosen individually) Union Station North, Denver, CO

Concept: Weaving

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Description:

On the corner of 16th Street and Wewatta Street lies an undeveloped site. It is the void between the edge of the thick urban city fabric and the deconstructed industrial edge where new residences and parks are popping up. It is the point where the city meets the living and in need of a stitch to bind them. Trespa's proposal for a city entertainment center is the perfect thread to weave this urban and living disconnect. This project proposes weaving as the basis of design. Patterns, circulation, transportation, program, light, wind, vegetation, structure, skin, entertainment and community are just some of the components woven throughout the site.

At the heart of downtown Denver is the 16th Street Mall, a dedicated pedestrian and free shuttle ride street, stretching from the Capitol to Union Station. The entertainment center begins by hooking onto this mall and weaving the existing pedestrian path into the core of the mixed use entertainment district. From the other side the existing vehicular path is woven into the site to enliven circulation and enhance accessibility.

Details throughout the site pick up on this woven pattern, from walls to roofs and interaction with the elements. These details expand on the Trespa perspectives; depth, rhythm and character, and introduces the new categories of innovation, technology and ecology.

Trespa Innovation

At the entry to the entertainment district a woven roof structure spans the amphitheater. This structure integrates Trespa panels as a no waste construction process. An entire Trespa panel is used without cutouts as to avoid excess landfill waste. This unit is than split and reattached with a hinge that allows movement from panel to panel. These connected panels are then woven throughout a steel tube structure. These panels instantly turn an open air public amphitheater into an intimate covered private space. The panels provide shielding from the elements, soften the transference of noise, reflect light back into the space to limit light pollution, provide a backdrop for added decoration and production scenery and add depth and movement to the stage and seating. When the performance is over all of the panels can be taken down stacked neatly for easy storage.

Trespa Technology

Traditional entertainment theaters require little to no daylight, but lots of drama and expression. To create this drama the theater facades have been adorned with a new Trespa technology, LED Trespa. A screen of LEDs is sandwiched between layers of perforated Trespa panels that allow the lights shine through. This LED system can then be tied back to a programmed interface that creates patterns and text that animate the entire facade with light and patterns.

Trespa Ecology

The commercial program allows for another application of Trespa panels, one that can be adaptive and responsive to the environment and occupants. These panels open and close depending on temperature and comfort levels. When open, wind and sun can weave through the building allowing for natural ventilation.