In the October/November 2008 issue, Modern In Denver explored SugarCube, a new building at the corner of 16th and Blake in LoDo that pays homage to its historic neighbors while looking toward the future and reflecting the present in Denver's architecture. For the original article, see page 38 in volume one issue two.
Here, in an online exclusive, Modern In Denver discusses the project with Bruce Kuwabara founding partner at Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB).
Toronto-based KPMB has been actively involved in that city's cultural renaissance, a phenomenon that emerged in the slipstream of the "Bilbao Effect." The firm has contributed six of nine projects, including Canada's National Ballet School, which was a recipient of an American Institute of Architects Honors Award in 2007; the Gardiner Museum, which received the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Architecture Award and the Chicago Athenaeum International Award this year; and the Bell Lightbox, the new home for the Toronto International Film Festival Group in downtown Toronto. Beyond Toronto the firm has projects at Yale University, and a massive, energy-efficient office tower in Winnipeg for Manitoba Hydro, which will provide a model for extreme cold climate design.
Because the firm has such a diverse range of projects (in style, purpose, etc.) it is no surprise that SugarCube would fit among the firm's list. In 1999-2000, Kuwabara and partner Shirley Blumberg collaborated with Denver-based Humphries Poli Architects to submit a design for what is now the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building. One of three finalists, the design was not chosen for the project, but through the process KPMB became excited about the process of working in Denver.
"We were impressed with the city, and by how passionate the people of Denver were about city building. We were aware of the city's vision to develop downtown, LoDo and areas such as the Central Platte Valley into a vital urban centre and we knew that we wanted to participate in implementing this vision," says Kuwabara.
Almost five years later that dream came true when Will Fleissig and Wendy Kohn invited the firm to submit a proposal for the design of a new building in LoDo - SugarCube. KPMB's design was chosen by Grant and Tom McCargo of Urban Villages because it fit the real estate development and investment firm's objective of creating "a building of our time."
Very much in sync with that mandate, Kuwabara explains, "Every building was once contemporary, every building implies a city: the SugarCube project gave us an ideal opportunity to apply our philosophy of making architecture that participates in building the city - and shaping the public realm. As architects, it is our responsibility to realize visions and ideas of liveability in built form - our vision for SugarCube was to do this on many levels: as a model and a strategy for making contemporary architecture in the historic LoDo district; as an embodiment of the spirit and geography of Denver; as a building that speaks to the time we live in but that is built for all time; and as a reflection of the collaborative, integrated process that was required to achieve it."
When asked about KPMB's inspiration and the design that ultimately became SugarCube, Kuwabara tells of the success in collaboration. "Ultimately it takes great clients to make great buildings. The team at Urban Villages - their energy, passion, and participation at all levels - was essential. As leaders committed to contemporary city building, they inspired us and gave us confidence that we could produce a project of urban significance." KPMB team included Kuwabara, Blumberg, Javier Uribe, Bruno Weber and Myriam Tawadros.
"With respect to the form, proportion and materiality of SugarCube, we were inspired by the context and architecture of LoDo, specifically by the buildings that frame the site: the 1904 Sugar Building and 16 Market Street [also owned by Urban Villages]. Spatially, we wanted to capture the energy at the level of the street as well as the geographic and atmospheric qualities that distinguish Denver - the distant views of the Rocky Mountain range, the expanse of the sky, the fresh air and abundant sunlight," states Kuwabara.
The design team worked to create a concept that would be fit in with the building's historic neighbors. "The requirements to do something contemporary yet respectful of LoDo's context, to comply with urban design guidelines and to accommodate mixed-use functions inspired a massing strategy in three parts - a pure cubic form set back from the street on all sides; a six-story masonry 'wall' addressing the 16th Street Mall; and a four story masonry 'wall' addressing Blake Street," explains Kuwabara. "The street 'walls' are carefully calibrated to relate to their immediate context. For example, the top of the 16th Street Mall 'wall' sits just below the cornice of the adjacent heritage Sugar Building. Buff brick for the street 'walls' consciously responds to the heritage fabric of LoDo."
Though showing deference to its neighbors the KPMB team made certain that SugarCube be very modern and of the present. "To retain a pure geometric figure of the cube within the composition, we clad it in black iron spot brick. We also developed a diverse typology of window openings and balconies to counter the regular grid of punched windows used for the 'wall's below, and inject a lighter, more contemporary vocabulary," states Kuwabara.
But there were challenges in SugarCube including zoning ordinances and how to design contemporary architecture in a heritage district under the Lower Downtown Design Guidelines, which impose strict design parameters. Kuwabara describes, "the allocation and organization of retail, office and residential uses within the tight building envelope," as another key challenge. "We began with three key questions: 'How does it work first, then how does it feel, and finally how does it look?' We calibrated the program to move logically from public (retail) to private (residential), with offices in between, through the various levels of the building," he explains.
From the early stages, the design review process pushed KPMB to think harder about every aspect of the building, and, notes Kuwabara, "it helped that Urban Villages was immensely supportive and committed to maintaining the original thrust of the design vision through to completion. SugarCube is an example of how constraints can in fact inspire advancement and innovation. With the SugarCube project, we are very interested in determining whether the design will mobilize a strategy and vocabulary for future interventions of contemporary architecture in LoDo. Ultimately, we hope the project will demonstrate the role that architecture has to play in cultivating the public realm and in making cities livable and civil."
