Office of Public Relations — Newsroom
News Release
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Tonya Ewers, 303.315.6374, pager 303.266.0941, Tonya.Ewers@uchsc.edu
University of Colorado Denver Architecture Study Results in Four Possible Design Concepts for the Renovation of Denver’s Historic Union Station Plaza
College of Architecture and Planning students conducted a semester-long design study and project as a public service to the city of Denver and its residents
DENVER (May 13, 2008) – As a public service to the city of Denver and its residents, the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning’s (CAP) Advanced Planning Studio graduate students undertook a semester-long project this spring to develop a comprehensive study of design and programming alternatives for the Denver Union Station plaza. The final four conceptual plans were presented to city planners, advocacy groups and the public at the Wellington Webb City & County building and included sections, elevations and perspective drawings. While each of the four plans had the same input of information, the four outcomes varied widely when it came to circulation of pedestrian traffic, placement of pathways, the structure of new buildings, sitting areas, and retail development opportunities such as a grocery store.
The 16 graduate students in the Advanced Planning Studio class aspired to create a flexible, inclusive, and active space around Denver Union Station that celebrates the historical character, integrates community identity, supports its mass transit function, and sustains the local and regional roles of the station. The four plans are available online and additional information is available at www.cudenver.edu/DUS/.
“This study and studio project were labor-intensive and involved a huge undertaking on the part of these students over the last four months,” said Jeremy Nemeth, PhD, assistant professor of Planning and Design at CAP and principal investigator for the project. “Armed with results from both a public workshop and their own 14 weeks of intense analysis, these talented, multidisciplinary students developed four detailed solutions for the plaza.”
The 16 students who took on this project are Master-degree students and are CAP’s most advanced students from a range of multidisciplinary architecture and planning degree backgrounds. They represent architecture, landscape architecture and urban and regional planning design students.
“The final designs are very thoughtful,” added Nemeth. “We trust the development team and the public recognize the careful research and sensitive thinking driving this effort, and are hopeful they will include elements of the students’ plans in their final design.”
Site Analysis
During the first four weeks of the spring semester, the students analyzed the social, cultural, historical and ecological factors influencing the public area surrounding Union Station. They took a broad, holistic look at the current development plan (including planned circulation patterns, rail connections, and building configurations) in an attempt to determine the rationale behind planning and design decisions made up to this point.
In order to mobilize resources and tackle this study with a holistic approach, the students broke into four main groups to analyze the history, physical environment, regulatory and financial structure, and users of Denver Union Station and its surrounding public spaces.
Public Workshop
In early March, a multitude of ideas and opinions about the redesign and use of the public space surrounding Denver’s historic Union Station were gathered during an open public forum held at the Oxford Hotel and hosted by CAP. Nemeth and the 16 CAP Advanced Planning Studio graduate students welcomed more than 120 participants who had come to share their viewpoints.
The workshop was organized into four stations: vision, uses, design and management and the opinions were streamlined into a final report. Overall preferences from the participants leaned toward a public space that is intimate, flexible (to accommodate a wide variety of uses) and green.
Plaza Design
Following the site analysis and gathering of public opinion, the students developed design and programming solutions and cost estimates, and proposed management and governance structures for the future plaza. These plans built upon the December 2007 update to the Master Plan, which the City and County of Denver, The Regional Transportation District, The Denver Regional Council of Governments, and The Colorado Department of Transportation had created in partnership for the redevelopment of Denver Union Station and the 19.5 acres directly adjacent to the rail lines.
Based on their findings, the students developed four preliminary concept plans and presented these to an Advisory Board on April 10. Each group then spent the remainder of the semester developing the plans in further detail and the final plans include suggestions regarding management structure and financial estimates.
About UC Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning
The College of Architecture and Planning is among the largest colleges of architecture and related design and planning disciplines in the U.S. Located on the University of Colorado Denver’s downtown campus and the University of Colorado-Boulder, CAP brings together faculty, students and practitioners who share common pursuits in communities of interest including: emerging practices in design, sustainable urbanism, the creation of healthy environments and the preservation of cultural heritage. CAP is one of 13 schools and colleges at UC Denver. The University offers more than 100 degrees and serves more than 28,000 students in Metro Denver and online. For additional news and information, please visit the UC Denver newsroom.
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