1960 – Sheraton Hotel, Denver

Architect: I.M. Pei & Associates

Now a Sheraton Hotel, this I.M. Pei designed building has passed through several hotel chains over the last fifty years. It has also expanded across the street to the former department store and plaze, also originally designed by Pei but now unrecognisable. Pei’s design has a strong repetitive design of concrete panels with a more decorative arrangement on the lower floors; and a distinct top floor. The proportion of the panels mirrors that of the building being tall and narrow.

The block-long hotel is a pioneering venture in precast concrete. It incorporates aggregate excavated from the site in deep Mo-Sai grillwork that changes pattern with interior spaces, shading not only guestrooms but also office and retail “” spaces not typically associated with hotels in the late 1950s.

The aluminum panels of the original May D&F department store were designed for replacement by large glazing units whenever additional display windows were required, have now been completely replace with glazing. A 132′ x 113′ hyperbolic paraboloid, the country’s widest concrete shell, housed additional retail, exhibition space and the store’s main entrance, has been demolished and extra space for the hotel added.