Dale Chihuly Makes a Match With 1401 Lawrence

Dale Chihuly’s Icicle Creek Chandelier (left) in Leavenworth, Washington, and Victoria and Albert Rotunda Chandelier in the V&A Museum in London. Images from Fire by Portland Press. (Photos by First Look.)

Dale Chihuly is making Colorado his second outpost — or at least he should. The Seattle-based glasswork artist has one of his signature chandeliers hanging in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, fifty pieces now belong to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and now he’s collaborating on the new high rise at 1401 Lawrence (the parking lot just to the east of Larimer Square). His is creating new pieces for the lobby, the rooftop garden, elevators, hallways, lounges and more.

Here’s what Chihuly had to say:

“1401 Lawrence is a fusion of art, architecture and design. Denver is a great city that appreciates art and culture and 1401 will be a great addition to its evolving cultural district.”

How very New York, where an alphabet soup of famous names in all artistic mediums have signed on to “collaborate” on boutique hi-rise buildings. But Chihuly feels like a good fit for Denver — dramatic and bold but without a sense of pretension or facade. Although, I could be biased since I love his work.

No word on when construction will begin, but the sales center is supposed to be up by this fall. The 51-story building was designed by Peter Clewes out of Toronto, and reps will be hawking 145 “residences” that run between 1,200 and 7,400 square feet — though no price has been advertised. They’ve already latched on to the new “Cultural District” moniker that Eric Dyce of the city’s Division of Theaters and Arenas has been pimping all over town. But there does seem to be a renaissance of sorts happening right in the neighborhood, with this the Four Seasons and the new Spire project all going up.

Other amenities being offered:

State of the art fitness center Dog washing and grooming on site Rooftop garden Infinity pool Outdoor barbeque area and fireplace Views

— Amy Haimerl