Gold Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2024
One Line Studio Architectural Office
by Tim Politis
- A' Design Award 2024 Gold Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: One Line Studio
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 143,305
- Verification code C609F41D6D · Verify this award
About One Line Studio Architectural Office
One Line Studio is an architectural office building in Denver, Colorado. The design forms a figurative line between the ground and the sky. A canted wall of naturally rusted steel anchors one end, while a thin roof edge rises toward the mountain peaks beyond. The glazed facade is interrupted by vertical cedar fins that soften glare. Dowel laminated timber panels act as both structure and finished surface, and alternating panel depths improve the interior acoustics. Native grasses give privacy at seating height and link the building to nearby wetlands.
Tim Politis's One Line Studio Architectural Office represents a distinguished achievement in contemporary workplace design, embodying the synthesis of structural innovation, material sensitivity, and contextual responsiveness that characterizes the most accomplished architectural practice of our era. The building emerges from its meadow setting as both a functional creative workspace and a meditation on the relationship between shelter and landscape, its dramatic ascending roofline suggesting the trajectory of creative thought while its transparent envelope establishes visual and phenomenological continuity with the surrounding natural environment. The architect appears to have drawn upon vernacular building traditions—the barn, the longhouse, the workshop—while reimagining these typologies through contemporary structural expression, resulting in a form that feels simultaneously rooted and aspirational. The rhythmic colonnade of timber posts extends beyond the roof plane in a gesture that may reference maritime architecture or forestry, dissolving the conventional boundary between building and sky while creating a memorable silhouette against the twilight atmosphere. Material choices demonstrate sophisticated understanding of both aesthetic and performative considerations: the warm timber cladding provides visual warmth and acoustic comfort while establishing dialogue with the wooded surroundings, while the exposed structural frame celebrates the honesty of construction that has characterized progressive architecture since the craft traditions of the early modern movement. The interior, glimpsed through the generous glazing, reveals a multi-level workspace where natural light and artificial illumination combine to create environments conducive to sustained creative engagement. One might consider how this building proposes a model for creative practice itself—transparent yet protected, individual yet connected to larger natural and cultural systems, grounded yet reaching toward possibility.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Forming a figurative ‘line’ between the ground and the sky, a canted, naturally rusted steel wall anchors one end of the structure while a thin roof edge ascends toward the sky beyond, framing an outward looking glazed expanse. The vitrified façade is interrupted by a series of vertical cedar fins that soften glare and appear to climb toward the sky from the native grasses below.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The primary structure balances DLT panels, steel, and concrete. Compression clips fasten glazing to steel structure, eliminating redundant framing. DLT panel expansion joints integrate AC diffusers, and adjustable rope light fixtures nestle within the recesses of alternating 2x6 and 2x8 DLT panels. Stair treads are made of Paralam while desks are created from locally sourced, reclaimed wood. A special variance was sought to use native grasses connecting the landscape to the nearby wetlands.
- Tags
- architecture, office, denver, colorado, studio, design, dlt, prefab, prefabricated wood panels, rusted steel,
- Production Technology
- Our team was captivated by the benefits of dowel laminated timber, DLT, for its ability to serve both as a structural component and finished panel system. The modular, prefabricated, factory checked consistency of DLT panels easily tolerate on site adjustments to accommodate construction errors while providing sustainable and biophilic benefits. The panels are a result of a seamless collaboration between One Line Studio and International Timber Frames in Golden, Canada.
- Design Challenge
- Experiment with innovative construction techniques that showcase a plethora of design possibilities.
- Project Duration
- Location: Denver, Colorado
Start to finish: 7 years, including planning - Operation Flow
- The use of alternating depth DLT panel walls adjust and optimize the interior acoustics of the studio. The design endeavors to establish a creative work environment that encourages collaboration while retaining a constant connection to exterior landscape. Main level privacy at seating height is ensured through tall native grasses that open the vistas as one stands up. The Mezzanine level opens up to its surroundings offering direct views of the mountains.
- Research
- Architecture as a figurative line between the ground and the sky, framing a connection to nature
- Inspiration
- Aspiring towards the mountain peaks, a soaring elevation frames its natural setting composed of wetland vegetation, natural grasses, and woodlands. An interior atmosphere is delineated between a timber wall and a curtain of suspended glass, thinly veiling the threshold between inside and outside.
- Image Credits
- Image #1 Photographer Jess Blackwell, 2023
Image #2 Photographer Jess Blackwell, 2023
Image #3 Photographer Jess Blackwell, 2023
Image #4 Photographer Jess Blackwell, 2023
Image #5 Photographer Jess Blackwell, 2023
Video Credits: Vitali Stanila, 2023
Colors of One Line Studio Architectural Office
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