The result is a 60-unit residential building with a mixed-use podium that provides space for community gatherings, office space for Atlantis Community Inc., and a museum. A physical manifestation of the client’s optimistic vision and mission, the building is a modern landmark in downtown Denver’s historic Baker neighborhood with a welcoming, joyful aesthetic inside and out. The ground-level spaces feature glass curtain walls that embody openness and transparency and invite the community in, while solid brick foundations express support for the residences above.
Atlantis Apartments
Denver, CO
Building Equity, Respect and Impact.
The Atlantis Community has been a vocal activist and pivotal champion in the fight for rights for people with disabilities since its founding in the 1970s. Under the leadership of their board chair, Lloyd Lewis, they aimed even higher, seeking to build a multifamily project that would provide a respectful living environment for those with and without disabilities, and create an important source of revenue that empowers the organization to expand its reach. Our RATIO team was inspired from the start to create a place that would be as special and impactful as the people who’d ultimately call it home.
Client
Atlantis Community Foundation
Size
87,583 SF
Complete
2017
“This world-class building brings to life an opportunity so desperately needed by the disability community in Colorado and is the first of many yet to come.””
Lloyd Lewis, Atlantis Community Foundation board chair
With goals to create one of the most accessible buildings in the country, exceeding ADA standards, we set out to minimize the differences between conventional and accessible housing. Strategic design interventions such as sensory elements and wayfinding cues were used to enhance the typical aesthetic of accessible design—to normalize accessibility.
