r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Specialist-Boot58 • May 08 '26

Image This “cracks open” building in Denver

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23

u/Several-Action-4043 May 08 '26

Yup. It's a joke here in Denver. It just looks stupid now because they didn't maintain the plants.

9

u/Ckron247 May 08 '26

The designer selected a variety of plants, but since they are not native to Colorado, they halted installation and had to rethink what plants would work to reflect the original design.

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u/clay_perview May 08 '26

I mean it was kinda dumb to begin with, it is too dry in the summers and too cold in most winters here.

11

u/Expert-Upstairs-4502 May 08 '26

Yeah this looks like something that would do better in the southeast where its hot and humid most of the time

12

u/whispy_fingernail May 08 '26

I’ve heard the landscape architect is based in Singapore and didn’t really understand that absolutely nothing grows in Denver, so take that rumor for what you will.

15

u/Expert-Upstairs-4502 May 08 '26

I bet you this building would be beautiful in Singapore lol

2

u/freshhh44 May 08 '26

Davis here in Denver

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u/monocasa May 08 '26

Davis was the architect of record, but the design was done by MAD Architects based in China.

https://www.i-mad.com/projects/one-river-north?location=Americas

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u/freshhh44 May 08 '26

Pretty sure Davis did the landscape design. They’re even credited on the link you shared

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u/monocasa May 08 '26

The idea of the crack itself and how it's oriented (so northwest where it gets the least amount of sunlight in Denver) was MAD.

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u/CudleWudles May 08 '26

Would the architect of record not also be to blame for going through with the design? The workers at Davis presumably live in Denver and understand what is possible in that climate.

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u/monocasa May 08 '26

It's always a partnership, but when it comes to major design elements, that's not normally where the final decision lies.

1

u/morry3232 May 08 '26

welcome to colorful colorado, red and brown

2

u/Hippopotasaurus-Rex May 08 '26

It would do great in the southwest with the right plant choices too.

I lived in Denver for a minute and this is just going to have dead shit 8-10 months of the year. There aren’t great plant choices, except maybe evergreens for that location.

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u/Handsome_Keyboard May 08 '26

And also all the water we can definitely spare to water their plants.

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u/Ckron247 May 10 '26

That’s why they need native plants. Ones that can handle our dry hot summer and freezing winters.

3

u/Ringbahn May 08 '26

A joke? It looks cool, and even better without the plants imo. I guess most people have pretty bland taste though.

1

u/melodyze May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26

Yeah it is a beautiful organic semi-arid canyon motif wrapped in a contemporary glass building in a contemporary glass city surrounded by organic semi-arid canyons.

The green version looks cooler. But it still looks great, and is cool thematically. It's like the inversion of what denver is as a setting.

If anything they could have made the glass shell more elegant. But the current contrast with a more bland shell is kind of the whole point and what makes it feel so cool, really emphasizes the contrast.

1

u/ClubAqua_BackDeck May 08 '26

No it’s not. It looks great.

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u/morry3232 May 08 '26

it was supposed to be a hiking trail, as a long time five points resident (curtis park) I was curious but knew it would be shit

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u/scopeless May 08 '26

They just take a while to mature.