CASE STUDY: DENVER BOTANIC GARDEN

The Hive Garden Bistro located inside Denver Botanic Gardens uses an overhead architectural panel with patterned openings to create a shaded al fresco dining experience that is comfortable and inviting even on 95-degree days.

The Hive project began with a challenge: Add outdoor seating to a café located in one of the most popular areas of the Denver Botanic Gardens that could be enjoyed throughout the spring, summer, and fall. The team from Burkett Design approached the project by identifying both its functional and aesthetic objectives. In terms of function, the space would need to effectively manage the more than 300 days of sunshine that Colorado experiences every year, while keeping the temperature comfortable. In terms of aesthetics, the solution needed to provide a strong connection between the patrons and their natural surroundings. This meant avoiding obtrusive, manmade structures in favor of something that blended more seamlessly into the environment.

Architectural panels with patterned openings easily met both functional and aesthetic demands. An overhead shade panel with a patterned cut-out would provide visitors respite from the intense summer sun, while allowing slices of warm daylight to be present in the café. The overhead openness would allow air to circulate freely, keeping the temperature of the café cooler and more comfortable, even during the height of summer.

After reviewing the average temperatures and weather conditions of the Denver area, it was decided that an openness factor of 15 to 20 percent was necessary to provide the balance of shade and air circulation that would keep the seating area appropriately shaded and comfortable.

Burkett Design wanted a material for the overhead panel that was lightweight, would not produce radiant heat or rust or require an obtrusive support structure. Aluminum offered the perfect material match. The lightweight aluminum panel could easily be machined with a pattern that offered 15 percent openness, it would not rust, and it could be supported by a slender wood structure, which complemented, rather than overwhelmed, the canopy design.

When it came to selecting the type of pattern that best fit the space, the designers wanted the café to feel like part of the gardens, instead of emphasizing the contrast between nature and the built environment. Organic patterns mimicked the soft lines found throughout the garden and created a seamless blend from the bistro to the banks of the adjacent Monet Pond. They selected a pattern that offered them the organic aesthetic they desired in the requisite openness factor.

In the end, Burkett Design created a beautiful, usable outdoor eating space that conveys the feeling of being in nature. The architectural panel provides ample shade and air circulation, successfully reducing the temperature on a 95-degree day to a comfortable 80 degrees. The pattern casts a beautiful shadow against all surfaces of the café, invigorating the space from sunrise to sunset.