Populus Hotel / Studio Gang

Architects: Studio Gang
Year: 2024
Photographs: Jason O’Rear, Yoshihiro Makino,
Developer: Urban Villages
Management: Aparium Hotel Group
Interior Designer: Wildman Chalmers Design
Interior Architects of Record: Fowler Architecture and Design
Art Curator: Katherine Homes
Contractor: The Beck Group
Landscape Architect: Superbloom
City: Denver
Country: United States

Populus Hotel, designed by Studio Gang in downtown Denver, is claimed to be the first carbon-positive hotel in the US. The 13-story building features elliptical windows inspired by Colorado’s Populus Tremuloides tree and includes 265 guestrooms, public spaces, and a 135,000-square-foot rooftop garden. Built with low-carbon concrete, its embodied carbon footprint was reduced to 6,675 metric tons of CO2e and offset through partnerships that included planting 70,000 trees. Sustainable elements such as insulated facades and reclaimed materials are incorporated throughout, and the project is targeting LEED Gold certification. Populus forms part of a broader redevelopment of downtown Denver led by Studio Gang.

Architecture firm Studio Gang has completed the Populus Hotel in Denver, which the developer claims to be the “first carbon-positive hotel” in the United States. Situated in downtown Denver, the 13-story building features a distinctive facade with elliptical windows of varying sizes, inspired by the “Aspen eyes” found on Colorado’s native Aspen tree, known as Populus Tremuloides.

Studio Gang founding partner Jeanne Gang described Denver as a city that “strikes a unique balance between being a vibrant city and a gateway to some of the country’s most awe-inspiring natural landscapes.” She added, “Our goal was to draw from this distinct urban character and rich ecology to create a building that would help define the skyline of this thriving city.”

Populus has a triangular form and includes 265 guestrooms, event and public spaces, and a 135,000-square-foot (12,542-square-metre) rooftop garden. The design by Studio Gang incorporates several energy-saving techniques, such as a green roof, created in collaboration with local landscape studio Superbloom, and protruding “lids” over the windows to provide shade for the interior.

The hotel’s facade was constructed using a low-carbon concrete mix that generates 30 percent fewer emissions compared to standard concrete. The project’s final embodied carbon footprint, which accounts for the creation, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of materials, was reduced to 6,675 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), according to the team. To offset these emissions, developer Urban Villages purchased 7,000 metric tons of carbon credits. The company stated that it partnered with organizations such as Grassroots Carbon, OneTreePlanted, and Terrapass to “acquire a balanced mix of high integrity, certified forest, and soil carbon credits”. It also worked with the US Forest Service to plant 70,000 trees. By offsetting more than the hotel’s embodied carbon footprint, the developer claims that this achievement makes Populus “the country’s first carbon-positive hotel.” The developer added, “Populus goes beyond net zero to help the planet regenerate and thrive.”

The team explained that the hotel’s embodied carbon footprint was already reduced through a combination of sustainable design and construction techniques, including the use of low-carbon concrete, an insulated facade system, a glass-fiber reinforced concrete rainscreen, and the deliberate decision to omit onsite parking. However, this calculation does not account for the hotel’s operational emissions, which refers to the energy required to heat, cool, and power the building throughout its lifetime.

The project is targeting LEED Gold certification for its sustainable design. Some parts of the interior structure were left exposed to minimize the use of cladding, while “highly recycled” materials were incorporated in other areas, such as reclaimed Wyoming snow fencing, recycled leather veneer, and reclaimed wood. The interiors, created by Pennsylvania-based studio Wildman Chalmers Design, honor the Mountain West region and incorporate a warm, natural color palette.