Denver

The skins of modern performance venues are often an expression not only of the activities within, but also are a reflection of the design process, material innovations as well as the project schedule and budget parameters. Throughout the design process, the design teams absorbs these parameters into the selection of appropriate materials in the use of tailoring those materials and systems into highly articulate enclosures. Attendees will be introduced to the design process of skins for performance venues through a presentation and discussion with panelists involved in recently completed projects of this type.

Fox Park is a transformative 41-acre industrial reclamation project expanding Denver’s urban core—integrating open space, culture and commerce into a mixed-use community that reflects a new spirited and creative generation. At its heart, the existing 320,000-square-foot former newspaper printing facility of The Denver Post will be converted into a vibrant new community and cultural center. Hear from Tryba Architects’ John McIntyre and Kathleen Fogler and the leader of the Fox Park Development, Jose Carredano McCadden, as they share their approaches to building new from existing structures and ideas on how underutilized former industrial space can seamlessly reintegrate into the urban core.

When enclosing cultural and art spaces, there is often a question of how to balance the exterior with the program inside. Two projects, the Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center and Denver Meow Wolf, show the duality of material boundaries and design. Rand Elliot and project lead at Shears Adkins Rockmore, Ryan Meeks, will explore this dual nature through the unique program and materiality at play in the projects: the use of strikingly illuminated, anodized and recycled aluminum for the Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center and the subtle curving, but private, concrete of the provocative art center for Meow Wolf. These experts and leaders in the field will discuss technical challenges and best practices when “setting the stage” for art centers representative and true to the community which they inhabit.

Next-generation façade technologies must contend with dynamically changing and often conflicting requirements to mitigate daylight, control heat flow, manage glare, shift spectral transmission, and reduce embodied carbon, all while maintaining views to the exterior, serving as the primary design element of the architecture, and meeting air, water, acoustic, fire, security, and structural requirements. We will explore current leading-edge façade technologies, their performance achievements, and define comprehensive criteria for next generation facades.

A fundamental departure from the rigid and monotonic design of building enclosures stems from the understanding of the local environmental criteria and how they are negotiated with broader building constraints. Today, it has been accepted to design around a variety of user experiences, aiming to high- quality environments, access to daylight and connection to the natural environments, diversity of comfort responses, and low-carbon material and processes. We will explore how principles of environmental design have been applied in different projects to elevate the quality of the built environment and how they may deliver more sustainable buildings.