In fact, Populus Hotel stands out among Denver’s most beautiful, strange, and historic buildings.
The newly built structure catches the eye with an exterior designed to mimic an Aspen tree, featuring 65 different window shapes and a triangular footprint rooted in one of Denver’s busiest intersections, at the corner of West Colfax Avenue and 14th Street.
It’s the nation’s first carbon-positive hotel, says developer Urban Villages, and the perfect place to celebrate Doors Open Denver 2024. The event from September 26 to Sunday, September 29 invites the public to experience local architectural wonders and provide expert commentary on their origins and history.
Visitors can also be the first to attend an event at Populus before it opens to the public on October 18.
“The building is newsworthy nationwide for its sustainability approach and materials, and (because it is) carbon positive,” said Meg Touborg, president and CEO of the Denver Architecture Foundation, which produces Doors Open Denver. “That level of innovation and engineering is absolutely remarkable and we certainly wanted to bring fans of Denver’s built environment into such a new building.”
The Doors Open Denver Gala at Populus will take place from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on September 28 and costs $150 per ticket. But you don’t have to spend that much to participate. Doors Open Denver features more than two dozen other buildings in Denver, ranging from the Globeville neighborhood in the north to the Baker neighborhood in the south, that people can explore and get to know in person, with a guide or on a virtual audio tour.
Open locations, where people can browse at their leisure, include Five Points’ Blair Caldwell African American Research Library, the Capitol Hill Mansion and the Byron R. White US Courthouse downtown. Guided tours take place at the rest of the locations, with a map denverarchitecture.org.
New this year are open days at architectural firms, which provide insight into the core of the design and planning of buildings. The 20th year of Doors Open Denver also features the theme Denver Through Time, focusing on how Denver’s best buildings have changed the city’s identity over the decades. That includes tours of historical monuments such as The Mayan Theater on South Broadwaybut also a spotlight on Colfax, Denver’s long and notoriously rough stretch.
Tours of individual buildings typically last an hour and a half and cost $20 per person. Not all sites are accessible to people with disabilities. Tickets and more details are available at denverarchitecture.org.
“We’re also looking at how Denver is resuscitating buildings in new ways, because the city is truly a leader in adaptive reuse, as you can see at Union Station,” Touborg said. “The new, $20 million Cleo Parker Robinson dance project is another great example, and that’s why we’re giving a tour of their construction site, a former church, while (Robinson) talks about its history.”
The Robinson tour costs $55 because it includes additional programming and a performance. Doors Open Denver also features a keynote lecture with architect Vishaan Chakrabarti at the Denver Art Museum (on September 26, with tickets priced at $65), a photo competition reception at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center (also September 26; free), a cocktail reception (September 26, $95, at a private home) and a wrap party at the Posner Center for International Development (free, September 29). Other events include a screening, book signings and author appearances.