DenverInfill Blog

I wish I could say otherwise, but the only part of that building that I like is the zig-zagy glass wall facing protest plaza.
 

Here was a great opportunity to incorporate recycling bins, instead of trash only and they choose not to. The buildings are all one stone it looks like, no other materials...not the best choice.
 

another HUGE let down. Way to keep on track Denver. I'm surprised it's not football shaped like the Webb and the DNA building....

yawn
 

The zig-zagy wall will be a nice back drop when they video tape the protesters. I like this design much better than the first klipp designs that I saw.
 

why is it so small we will probably out grow this jail in about 5 to 10 years with all of the people moving out hear. and sorry to mention it is ugly.
 

Damn, we gotta buncha haters here! It's a JAIL & a COURTHOUSE. It's functional. It's economically feasible. It's long overdue. Can we get some realistic perspective here?!
 

take a look at what LA and other cities are constructing and tell me you are pleased with this design
 

anon 1101... LA is 4-5 times larger than Denver is and has greater resources. I think we ar edoing fine with what we have.
 

Touche...at least they aren't building a "jailscraper" like the ones in Chicago and Santa Barbara...the one in Chicago is over 20 stories and is hideously ugly, right in the middle of the city.
 

Yup, predictable lame Klipp design. They're famous for functional yet BORING...so different from the original Steven Holl design.
 

I hope the building doesn't turn out as lousy as that model.
 

They should have gotten Libeskind to design the jail... can you imagine how hard it would be for prisoners to figure out how to escape from that!
 

From a functionalist point of view, its a good thing that the west elevation of the courthouse is so thoroughly ribbed for pleasure.

Also, I have seen more inventive buildings come out of first and second graders with cereal boxes, a hot glue gun and a bedazzler.

This thing is an extruded battleship tarted up with stone and a zig zag curtain wall. That might be enough for a city like Kansas City but that wont cut it in the Mile High City...oh wait...Kansas City got an amazing Steven Holl building.

This abomination of a warmed over modernist building is lame from out of the gate and justly deserves to be put out to pasture at the Fitzsimmons Campus or at the Tech Center.

It’s a good thing Justice is blind because this building is guilty of being FUG.
 

It's underwhelming at best. Denver is still a hub of mediocre and conservative architecture. It’s even more disappointing when we’re discussing a major public building, funded by the public. We only have a few chances to create great public architecture, and playing it safe seems to be the norm. I guess I expect more from a publicly funded project. We deserve better and need to take a few risks. I simply ask myself, what would make me want to go there? The architecture? The plaza? I guess it can be considered a good subordinate building, fitting into the rules of the civic center framework.
 

hey anymore news on the spire? :(
 

The design is definitely an improvement over the last design, not a huge one, but definitely an improvement. I like how this design relates a bit more to the grid system around it, and think it could look potentially stunning from Tremont Street. I think the landscaping on the site looks pretty good, though I wonder if they can really cram that many trees onto that sight (and pray that they are not all one species, and especially not honey locust).

The jail is still pretty blah, but I guess it's a jail, so we can't expect a lot. I think we should also recognize the design as being very preliminary. I hope that they will hold at least a few public meeting for comment, so we can at least suggest some mild cosmetic/practical changes to the design that KLIPP will hopefully be willing to accommodate (ie the recycling bins and using a variety of trees).

All in all, I am not awed but I am also not horribly disappointed either
 

Geeesssh.... It's a jail! The Hamilton building is too wild and crazy, this building is too boring, something else is too big or too small, out of place, has too much glass or not enough, the wrong color of brick or concrete, or something.... Just be happy we have a vibrant downtown that is always changing, growing out and up, infilling.
And while we'd like to think Denver is the center of the universe and yet also on the cutting edge, it's just a medium-sized, big city in the middle of the US that's a great place to live for a whole host of reasons. Lighten up!
 

Hmmmm... "what would make me want to go there" that's the funniest thing I've ever read. It's a jail and a courthouse.. NOTHING would make me want to go there. Not if every single person who had to go there was inspired by the architecture to start missions to the poor and homeless. Even if you could hear a chorus of angels every time you drove by.

And it looks functional to me.. with some embellishment in the entrance. The landscaping actually looks GOOD with the building too.