RINO ART PARK
Provided: Master Planning + Full Service Architecture + Interior Design + Landscape concept design
Location: Denver, CO
Completed: Fall 2021
As part of the City of Denver’s Game Plan for a Healthy City, Tres Birds, in collaboration with Wenk Associates, has taken on the reprogramming and design of a multi-block stretch of the south Platte river front property between 32nd and 38th streets. Anchoring the center of this multi-phase project is the new RiNo ArtPark. Designed by Tres Birds, the ArtPark is a cultural hub, responding to programmatic needs of the community and serving to increase access to green space along the riverbank.
The South Platte River has long been an industrial zone in Denver, with little community connection to the river. The existing buildings on this site - previously a group of replete warehouses that were slated for demolition - were instead adapted and re-purposed for new functions. Tres Birds saw potential in the structure of these buildings and proposed a creative solution for reclaiming them for the new cultural center. This design process is what we like to think of as erosion. We removed concrete, asphalt, sewer pipes, and cladding, replacing it with vegetation, daylight, and open space.
The original building occupied the site like an imposing mass. Through partially disassembling and selectively removing the center of the building, leaving the steel k joist framing in-place, the design created two wings flanking a central plaza which now marks the north entrance to the park.
The east wing houses a first-of-its-kind branch of Denver Public Library, an art gallery space and eight affordable artist studios made possible in partnership with RedLine Contemporary Art Center. The library has space for a small collection and collaboration spaces that can serve as conference rooms or maker spaces, as well as storage and private offices. The west wing houses Focus Points Family Resource Center’s café and restaurant, also featuring a large commissary kitchen and food incubator to enable small businesses to prove their concepts before transitioning to more costly commercial kitchens.
These spaces open onto a plaza and enhanced greenspace that connects to the pedestrian and bike path along the Platte. The plaza is home to an extensive public art installation featuring large metal hoppers reclaimed from a neighboring concrete plant. Artists Jaime Molina and Pedro Barrios of The Worst Crew, along with Tres Birds have repurposed the hoppers into sculptures throughout the plaza and park.
“We like to be able to use what’s on the site. It’s a hopeful gesture. Through repurposing and our art practices, we can reduce waste and make meaningful, useful design for our community.” – Mike Moore, Tres Birds.
Location: Denver, CO
Completed: Fall 2021
As part of the City of Denver’s Game Plan for a Healthy City, Tres Birds, in collaboration with Wenk Associates, has taken on the reprogramming and design of a multi-block stretch of the south Platte river front property between 32nd and 38th streets. Anchoring the center of this multi-phase project is the new RiNo ArtPark. Designed by Tres Birds, the ArtPark is a cultural hub, responding to programmatic needs of the community and serving to increase access to green space along the riverbank.
The South Platte River has long been an industrial zone in Denver, with little community connection to the river. The existing buildings on this site - previously a group of replete warehouses that were slated for demolition - were instead adapted and re-purposed for new functions. Tres Birds saw potential in the structure of these buildings and proposed a creative solution for reclaiming them for the new cultural center. This design process is what we like to think of as erosion. We removed concrete, asphalt, sewer pipes, and cladding, replacing it with vegetation, daylight, and open space.
The original building occupied the site like an imposing mass. Through partially disassembling and selectively removing the center of the building, leaving the steel k joist framing in-place, the design created two wings flanking a central plaza which now marks the north entrance to the park.
The east wing houses a first-of-its-kind branch of Denver Public Library, an art gallery space and eight affordable artist studios made possible in partnership with RedLine Contemporary Art Center. The library has space for a small collection and collaboration spaces that can serve as conference rooms or maker spaces, as well as storage and private offices. The west wing houses Focus Points Family Resource Center’s café and restaurant, also featuring a large commissary kitchen and food incubator to enable small businesses to prove their concepts before transitioning to more costly commercial kitchens.
These spaces open onto a plaza and enhanced greenspace that connects to the pedestrian and bike path along the Platte. The plaza is home to an extensive public art installation featuring large metal hoppers reclaimed from a neighboring concrete plant. Artists Jaime Molina and Pedro Barrios of The Worst Crew, along with Tres Birds have repurposed the hoppers into sculptures throughout the plaza and park.
“We like to be able to use what’s on the site. It’s a hopeful gesture. Through repurposing and our art practices, we can reduce waste and make meaningful, useful design for our community.” – Mike Moore, Tres Birds.
