This Building With ‘Tree Bark’ Windows Will Be US’ First ‘Carbon-Positive’ Hotel

Image via Studio Gang

At the new Populus hotel in downtown Denver, guests will have a restful sleep knowing that their lifestyle choices aren’t harming the environment. It is expected to be the first carbon-positive hotel in the United States, pitting its scheduled launch against Norway’s first.

As described by Ecosave, carbon-positive buildings go beyond carbon zero by removing emissions from the atmosphere.

Officials broke ground on the site of Populus late last month, with plans for a late-2023 opening. It so happens that this area was where Colorado’s first gas station used to be. Jon Buerge, the chief development officer of the project’s developer Urban Villages, tells Fast Company it’s “poetic justice.”

Urban design firm Studio Gang helms the building’s architecture, giving the 13-story sculpture distinctive windows resembling the bark of Colorado’s Populus Tremuloides tree, also known as the native Aspen. In nature, the unique ‘eye’ shape surfaces on the trunks when the trees shed their lower branches.

‘Eye’ lids offer shade, while windowsills serve as in-built seats, a hammock, or desk space to maximize the use of space.

Image via Studio Gang

Perhaps a stroke of fate to the site’s former presence as a home to the state’s first gas station, Populus has no parking space—a deliberate feature in its low-emissions design as parking lots are usually constructed with carbon-heavy concrete. To get to the hotel, guests would have to travel by public transportation.

Image via Studio Gang

The developers are focusing more resources on covering the building with extra-insulating components due to their long-term benefits of temperature control. The robust façade means heating and cool expenses will be kept at a minimum.

For structures that require concrete, Populus’ builders are using low-carbon concrete. The hotel will also be outfitted with recycled or locally-sourced materials.

Then there’s the rooftop, which will not only feature a bar and restaurant but also a garden terrace filled with lush, local vegetation. The vantage point will also present stunning views of the cityscape, mountainous surroundings, and Civic Center Park.

Admittedly, all this isn’t enough to offset the structure’s carbon footprint, so Populus’ management has pledged to offset the more than 4,000 metric tons of carbon the hotel emits by planting trees on over 5,000 acres of land. And although the hotel will be roofed with solar panels, they probably won’t be sufficient, so it will also tap renewable energy from external sources.

Image via Studio Gang

[via Fast Company and 303 Magazine, images via Studio Gang]