Mixed-Use Building in Denver Makes a Statement on a Budget

Named for a “middle of town” location in Denver, MoTo is a six-level, 82,000-square-foot building encompassing 64 apartments, plus retail and parking. But there’s nothing middle-of-the-road about the design. “It deliberately contrasts with the generic residential projects around it,” Gensler senior __design architect Nick Seglie explains.

Lending a dynamic street presence, upper levels are stacked in an offset fashion and clad with corrugated painted steel in alternating vertical and horizontal orientations. The cedar of overhangs warms the industrial palette, which also includes board-formed concrete for the base. Varied window sizes and placements create further interest.

You’d never guess that Seglie worked on a very tight budget, delivering statement architecture without the high price tag. “All it takes is vision and effort,” he says. He took the challenge and ran with it, winning the __design Excellence Award for a large built lifestyle project.

> See more from the November 2016 issue of Interior Design