Colorado Convention Center Expansion

Submitted by Fentress Bradburn Architects Ltd.

The design for the Colorado Convention Center Phase II Expansion offers a unique, bold and innovative solution that meets the needs of current and projected business demands while adding a striking new image to Denver's skyline.

The new design brings the Convention Center to 2.4 million sq ft - more than double its original size.

The redesign focuses on two main facades - the first emphasizes a large-scale identity on the thoroughfare side of the building while the second facade connects with Denver's downtown grid and maintains an appropriate urban scale.

On the thoroughfare side, a high-peaked, 1,000-ft-long canted roofline and full-facade glass curtain wall cut upward against Denver's skyline and will be lit at night, making a striking gesture both for the building and the city. Below that will be a round 5,000-seat lecture hall, counterbalancing the dramatic roofline.

The expansive glass wall of the opposite face maintains a pedestrian scale with a series of four roof-blades. The building recedes at intervals to disguise it's massing and emulates the storefront scale of the surrounding urban neighborhood.

The structure spans nine city blocks and integrates one two-lane street and two light-rail lines under its northern edge. The design significantly increases the flexibility of the building, so that it can be tailored to both large and small conventions.

Expansion of the facility doubles the size of the exhibit hall to 600,000 sq ft of contiguous space; increases the meeting rooms to 90,000 sq ft and the ballroom spaces to 85,000 sq ft, and adds an additional 1,000 parking spaces.

Other features include a pedestrian bridge between the convention center and the performing arts complex, as well as future development potential for another 300,000 sq ft of meeting rooms and a 1,000-room convention hotel.

Project Team

Owner/Developer: City and County of Denver
Architect: Fentress Bradburn Architects Ltd., architect-of-record
Associate Architects: Bertram A. Bruton & Associates, Harold Massop Associates, ACLP Architecture
Design Team: Martin/Martin, The Sheflin Group, BCER, ME Engineers Inc.
General Contractor: Hensel Phelps/Walker/Alvarado, a joint venture

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