River North Rail Terrain

Promoting the Alternative

This is a master plan that I created with Justin Feider in 2010 while in graduate school for the River North area of Denver. At the time, the area was mostly industrial and underdeveloped, but was seen as the next frontier for the growth of the urban core. The project began with an extensive delamination of the site. These layers helped to inform the proposal for an unconventional, future identity of what is also known as RiNo.

The delamination process found a strong presence of alternative ecologies such as art studios that thrive within River North; these ecologies were threatened by anticipated new development and subsequent increased land values. Moreover, there was a “buffer zone” of undesirable, open, vacant, gritty terrain that existed along the rail between the tracks and buildings within River North - this terrain was perhaps a wasted strip of land that had potential to become an amenity.

*Note: These were designed to be large-format printed boards and are thus difficult to read at the scale of a small screen. If you like, you can download a PDF version by clicking here.

The design proposal was based on the notion that this terrain along the rail could foster and sustain atypical urban land uses that enrich and beautify the otherwise undesireable space. These uses could include studios and storefronts for alternative entrepreneurs like artsists and eco-startups, as well as open space like urban agriculture and outdoor recreational facilities.  All the while, allowing a free market system to play out within the center spine of River North along Brighton Blvd, the main gateway into the city from the airport. Perhaps it could have been a traveler's destination pod dawning luxurious hotels and trendy foodie spots along the river and the main road, surrounded by unique, off-the-beaten path adventures within walking distance to meet and greet the local makers and doers.

*Note: These were designed to be large-format printed boards and are thus difficult to read at the scale of a small screen. If you like, you can download a PDF version by clicking here.