This museum for contemporary art, situated in the centre of Denver, forms part of a street block with mixed uses. The building closes a gap in the urban fabric where industrial developments once stood. It thus marks an important step towards rehabilitating the area around Union Station, which is a listed structure. Concepts of sustainability played a major role both during the demolition phase and in the construction of the museum. Fifty per cent of the demolished structures found their way into the recycling chain, and 20 per cent of the new building consists of recycled materials. The museum was awarded the LEED Certificate in gold, a US seal of recognition for the highest standards of sustainable construction. Major aspects of this include the planted roof, the sanitary installations (ope-rated with a minimum of water), the internal furnishings and fittings, which have an ecological seal, and last, but not least, the facade.
More than 50 per cent of the facade is in a two-layer form of construction, comprising an outer curtain wall of tinted, sand-blasted double glazing and an inner skin of 38 mm translucent sandwich panels with a honeycomb core. This material is commonly used for the enclosing structure of lorries, where translucence, lightness (4.4 kg/m² for a thickness of 25 mm), stability and simple processing are important. The 1.22-metre-wide room-height panels filter daylight, thereby ensuring an even level of natural lighting in the internal spaces.
The cavity between the inner and outer facade skins functions as a thermal buffer zone and ventilating space, balancing out temperature extremes and reducing cooling loads, as well as providing an extract route for vitiated air. Moisture is added to the air intake by means of an evaporative cooling system – an important aspect for the museum exhibits in view of the climate in Denver.
