Studio Gang begins construction on Populus, the 'first carbon-positive hotel in the U.S."

Opening itself to the city and to the Rocky Mountains beyond, Populus is designed to become an energetic new social center in downtown Denver. Located on a prominent corner site, the building greets the neighborhood equally on all three sides, welcoming visitors and residents and connecting Denver's civic, arts, and commercial districts.

At the building's base, the windows grow up to 30 feet in height to frame entrances and views into the lobby, restaurant, and amenity spaces. The texture and rhythm of its sculptural façade is strongly tied to the building's hotel function. Each vertical scallop is the width of a hotel room, and its windows change in size in response to public and private spaces. The distinctive window shapes are informed by studying the characteristic patterns found on Aspen trees (Populus tremuloides). As the trees grow, they shed their lower branches, leaving behind dark, eye-shaped marks on the papery bark of their trunks.