We just had to do a series of blog posts about one of the most common comparisons we are asked to make... Glass House vs. SPIRE.

If there are two buildings in Denver that are among the most popular and the most discussed they would be the Glass House in Riverfront Park and SPIRE in downtown Denver.  When we do tours of the great residential towers in Downtown Denver these are almost always on the short list.  They are also where many of our clients are now happily living and enjoying the Downtown Denver lifestyle.

While there are many other great buildings in Denver the Glass House and SPIRE residences are among the most desired.  They also  have some of the best reviews from existing homeowners and our clients continue to tell us how much they enjoy living there.  That's why they are among our favorites too.  Both are very similar with glass wall systems, great amenities, great locations and they were both built by the same construction company.  As you might guess, many of the questions we receive from our clients are about trying to determine which of the top two is the true number one.  Our answer is simple.... It depends.

It depends on what priorities our clients have.  There are strengths about both buildings as they compare against each other and there are differences that only the individual who will live there can determine which is the winner.  It's like asking someone what the best ice cream flavor is... you are going to get different answers.  Sure, you can narrow it down to the most popular few choices but at some point it's going to be individual preferences (and taste buds).

What we can do and will be doing over the next several weeks is a Wednesday blog series comparing and discussing these two buildings in various categories that our clients often ask us about.  Then we will put out a vote at the bottom of the post and let all of you readers lend your point of view.  We think the Glass House and SPIRE are outstanding residential towers in Denver so this is a fun topic to share points about.    We will be comparing location, amenities, green living, and more.  For this intro post we picked a topic that won't need as many words (since we already filled up the page explaining what we will be discussing).  Let's talk about... Architecture.

The question is simple, which building's Architecture speaks to you more.  They are both picture perfect (and many photographers use these buildings for their best examples) with elegant glass walls.  The both light up the skyline views to their neighbors.  Let's face it... these are good looking buildings and the reflections of light off the glass can be spectacular any time of day.

So for your Architecture and construction fans here is a quick breakdown of the two and we want you to vote.   Please note that info was gathered from online resources so these measurements are approximate, we didn't actually measure the height ourselves although that would be a fun challenge.

Glass House

  • Architectural Height - 81.69 m
  • 23 Floors
  • Structural Material - Concrete, Glass
  • Facade System - Brick, Glass
  • Two towers
  • 8th Floor Amenity Level
  • Architectural Style - Modernism
  • Architect – Preston Partnership

SPIRE

  • Architectural Height - 147.22 m
  • 41 Floors (no 13th, so the top is 42)
  • Structural Material - Concrete, Glass
  • Facade System - Curtain Wall
  • Single Tower
  • Architectural Style - Post Modern
  • 9th Floor Amenity Level
  • Architect - RNL Design

Don't forget to check back next Wednesday when we will go into more detail on the next Glass House vs. SPIRE topic.