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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2014
brim – emerges from the hotel’s south
façade to provide weather protection at
the overlook below and shield the an-
gled, point-supported glass system at the
prefunction area of the hotel’s ballroom
at level two. Each canopy projects a lofty
elegance that belies its complexity. In fact,
the entire project required tactical design
and engineering at every turn to respond
to the site’s abundant constraints, includ-
ing those that aren’t visible, like vibration
and sound.
The structural team led by Arup, an
internationally renowned engineering
firm, teamed with S.A. Miro. “We put the
biggest building that we possibly could in
the smallest space,” explained S.A. Miro’s
Senior Project Engineer Dave Mitchell of
the site that is bordered on the east and
west by bridges, to the north by the exist-
ing terminal and to the south by RTD’s
new train platform. The site limitations
generated a tower-on-a-podium solution
that navigates the 60-foot grade change
between the main terminal level and
the new transit center – five stories below.
The poured-in-place concrete podium
with articulated precast panels contains
lobbies for the hotel and transit center, a
bus concourse, mechanical and loading
space, hotel conference center (ballrooms
andmeeting rooms), tunnels for the train,
and future baggage handling and securi-
ty screening areas. At the plaza level, the
10-story tower has restaurants at its base,
topped with nine floors of hotel rooms.
DIA’s Stu Williams noted, “The check-in,
at level six, will have commanding views
fromPikes Peak toMount Evans andback
to the Jeppesen.”
Constructing the new building adja-
cent to the Jeppeson Terminal present-
ed its own set of challenges. It required
relocating and then re-anchoring the
existing tent structure whose supports
were located directly in the footprint of
the new building. Extensive shoring also
was necessary to avoid undermining the
terminal’s south foundation. “Both were
among the incredible feats of engineer-
ing and construction,” said Williams,
while S.A. Miro’s Mitchell explained how
the demanding site, including expansive
soils combined with a raft of complex
building geometries, required the design
of eight distinct structural systems. “Any
DIA HOTEL & TRANSIT CENTER TEAM
OWNER/PROGRAM MANAGER:
City and County of Denver and
Denver International Airport
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SUPPORT:
Parsons and HNTB
UTILITIES AND ENABLING:
Kiewit
ARCHITECT:
Gensler
ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT:
Anderson Mason Dale Architects
ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT:
Iron Horse Architects
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS:
S.A. Miro
GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Mortenson, Hunt and Saunders
HOTEL OPERATOR:
Westin
