One River North: Blending Nature with Urban Innovation

Denver, Colorado, is known for its unique blend of urban living and outdoor lifestyle, thanks to its proximity to the Rocky Mountains. One River North, a striking new residential tower, embodies this connection by offering a design that merges city life with natural elements. Designed by world-renowned Architects, the building features a canyon-like façade that seems to have been overtaken by nature. This unique design created significant structural challenges, requiring a high level of creativity and collaboration between architects, engineers, and construction teams.

One River North was designed to give residents the feel of a natural environment while providing the convenience of city life. With over 180 residential units spread across 16 stories, the building also includes three levels of underground parking, offering about 175 spaces. The ground floor houses retail spaces and resident amenities, including bike storage and a pet wash.

The outdoor spaces, located between floors six and eight, are what make One River North stand out. These terraces feature fire pits, walking paths, and even a waterfall, providing residents with a peaceful escape. Additional rooftop amenities include a pool and hot tub, along with breathtaking views of the nearby Rocky Mountains.

The building’s canyon-like feature, which gives it the appearance of being overtaken by natural elements, presented significant engineering challenges. The building’s irregular geometry required creative engineering solutions to ensure structural integrity while maintaining the aesthetic vision.

The foundation of One River North is built on 76 drilled piers, which reach down into bedrock at depths of up to 45 feet. These piers vary in diameter, with the largest supporting the heaviest-loaded columns. The foundation also includes a 48-inch diameter pier cap under the building’s core walls to provide lateral stability.

The irregular column spacing and the unique canyon feature presented challenges for the structural design. The building uses both round and rectangular columns, with round ones preferred for outdoor spaces. Columns transitioning through the canyon space had to be shaped to align with the canyon’s contours, requiring high-strength concrete and precise engineering to maintain stability.

The structural slabs are post-tensioned, providing additional strength to support outdoor landscaping features like waterfalls and fire pits. These slabs are poured with 6,000-psi concrete and thickened where needed to support large loads. Post-tensioning helped control slab deflection and ensured the building could handle its unique design elements.

The canyon’s design was made possible by the CHIPS system, a plaster and mesh setup mounted to steel braces attached to the building’s slabs. The CHIPS system was modeled in Rhino 3D software, and the project team worked meticulously to ensure the plaster panels aligned perfectly with the building’s curves. TEKLA laser scanning technology was used to place the embed plates accurately, minimizing the need for corrections during construction.

Construction began in 2021, with excavation and installation of the drilled piers. By December 2022, the building had topped out, and the installation of the CHIPS system was completed by late 2023. The project was officially finished in April 2024, garnering significant attention and pride for its unique design and integration of natural elements into an urban environment.

One River North is a testament to modern engineering’s ability to push the boundaries of traditional architecture. By blending natural and urban elements, the project exemplifies how innovative design and collaboration can transform city living. The successful integration of the canyon feature demonstrates how architecture can inspire while serving functional purposes. One River North stands as a landmark of Denver’s architectural landscape and a source of pride for those involved in its creation.