I.M. Pei Designed Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel To Participate in Doors OPEN Denver April 12 & 13

Will Unveil New Lobby Furnishings

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. March 28, 2014

Denver - March 28, 2014 - The 10th Anniversary of Doors OPEN Denver will be held on April 12th and 13th. , 2014. The Denver Architectural Foundation annually presents this free two-day event of tours in and around Denver's most interesting buildings, including the I.M. Pei designed Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel.

The 2014 theme, Celebrating Neighborhood Architecture, will feature sites and tours in the downtown area neighborhoods, including the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, as well as Capitol Hill, LoDo, Santa Fe, Park Hill, Five Points, Highlands, Hill Top, Uptown, Cherry Creek, The Mariposa District, Golden Triangle, Baker Historic District, RiNo, the Auraria Campus and others.

The Sheraton Denver Downtown will offer tours on April 13 at noon to show examples of the work by the hotel's famed architect I.M. Pei. Located on Denver's popular 16th Street Pedestrian Mall, the original mid-20th century project was the first major development in any American city to combine a hotel, department store, parking and public space. Envisioned as Denver's version of the Rockefeller Center, the plaza also featured a skating rink, reflecting pool and mini-golf. Planning began in 1954 and the 22-story hotel was completed in 1960. The American Institute of Architects recognized the hotel with its 1961 National Honor Award.

The block-long building is a pioneering venture in precast concrete, and an early example in green building practices. The material reflects Pei's philosophy that a building should come from the earth. The façade was made of aggregate that came from the actual building location, and aggregate grillwork made in Salt Lake City that changes pattern with interior spaces. This structure was a direct stylistic descendent of the Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation in Marseilles, France.

Chinese American architect I.M. Pei, born in 1917, is considered a master of modern architecture. Among his many award-winning works are the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, the famous Louvre Pyramid entrance in Paris as well as Denver's Skyline Park and the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel's Tower Building.

Doors OPEN Denver tours of the hotel will include the Plaza Lobby, the Tower Lobby and the connecting second floor bridge. Tour guides will unveil new lobby furnishings that will give the spaces a transitional and traditional look, with contemporary lines and stylish fabrics. Granite table tops on modern metal bases, tufted fabrics on chairs and sofa seating will give an elegant yet contemporary feel to the refreshed spaces.

The Plaza Lobby refreshment will include a new 360-degree bench, in shades of magenta, chocolate brown and celadon green, in keeping with the existing carpet and flooring. Double- sided settees will surround the bench for flexible seating areas. In addition, the seating area near 16Mix Cocktail Lounge will receive more soft and flexible seating pieces for informal and impromptu meetings. New fabrics in the banquets and chairs in 15/Fifty, the hotel's restaurant, will feature the rust colors of the barstools in the nearby bar area. New double-sided ceiling height directional signage will be added in the hotel's Concourse/Plaza Ballroom level. The Tower building's unused registration desk will be walled off and feature black and white photos of Denver in the 1930's and 1940's, as well as the second level bridge, which connects the Tower and Plaza buildings will again feature photos from this era, as well as information on I.M. Pei and his body of work in Denver.

Details for Doors OPEN Denver tours and other activities are on www.doorsopendenver.com.

The Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel is Colorado's largest hotel with 1,231 guest rooms, 82 luxurious suites and more than 131,000-square-feet of meeting space with six restaurants, a 24-hr Sheraton Fitness by Core Performance facility, Link@Sheraton business center, and heated rooftop pool. Located on the pedestrian 16th Street Mall in the heart of downtown Denver, the hotel is minutes from the Colorado Convention Center. Named one of the top 15 meetings hotels in the U.S., it serves groups of 10 to 3,000 with custom and innovative services, advanced technology, and a green meetings program. The property is owned by Chartres Lodging Group and managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. For more information, visit www.sheratondenverdowntown.com.