1800 Larimer Roof Top - Denver, Colorado, USA

The organizing idea for the 1800 Larimer Street Roof Garden reinforces the architectural design of the overlooking building which can be considered “lifted sky panels.” As attached to the building above, these are blue tinted reflective glass. In the garden they are raised planting beds used to divide space and to host mostly wind-activated plants, primarily grasses, as well as seed and berry plants that are visited by creatures of the sky.  The raised planting beds create intimate visitation areas with dark metal chairs and tables for employee meetings and breaks for taking in a little urban nature on the roof.

At the time it opened in 2010, 1800 Larimer was the first high-rise office building constructed in Denver’s central business district in more than 25 years.  It ushered in a new class of office tower designed for energy efficiency and low toxicity.  The 22-story building includes a 17,000-square-foot outdoor terrace, Denver’s largest private park, intended to attract birds and pollinators to the core of the city and to bring contact with nature to the buildings employees.

The building’s developer, Rich McClintock, Westfield’s CEO, said 1800 Larimer represents the building of the future.

“1800 Larimer is a vanguard 21st century building, demanding a sale price reflective of its features,” McClintock said. “It’s one of the only multi-tenant LEED Platinum CBD office buildings in the United States, and the only one west of the Mississippi River.”

The building sold in 2011 for a nearly unprecedented $430 per square foot, in part due to its enhancement of nature in the city and its lower operating costs and higher employee productivity provided through green building measures.