RiNo ARTS CENTER
(In collaboration with Anna Brodersen)
Denver, CO | ARCH 609 | Spring 2018
Construction equipment, towering cranes, and persistent noise of progress litter the streets of the RiNo neighborhood as urban voids transform into centers for creativity and innovation. The renewal of the River North Arts District of Denver, CO is well underway. Missing, however, is the intensity and integral connections from RiNo to the rest of Denver -- it sits as an island, separated by boundaries natural and man-made. To relieve the disconnect made by the bones of the city -- the railroad, the river, the changing urban fabric -- a place should be made which celebrates the energy and enthusiasm of RiNo in its larger context of Denver. The RiNo Art Center seeks to play on this desire, bridging gaps by celebrating an intensified atmosphere -- rooting itself in the core of the neighborhood -- through the mediation of contextual boundaries and environmental characters.
Through a series of concrete walls, connections are made through and across the narrow site. In and around these linkages, open and flowing spaces are created which allow for a host of activity and energy to disperse into the surrounding area. Flexible galleries, innovative maker studios, and a strong connection to its context help to root the RiNo Arts Center in its place. The creation of a network of landscape nodes at the northeast end of the site further provides the neighborhood with outdoor space where activities and life make the most of the Colorado weather, views to the mountains, and transforming surroundings.
