The vision behind the first carbon-positive hotel in the U.S. began nearly 10 years ago—at a time when there were no carbon-neutral hotels open yet, never mind a carbon-positive one. The Populus hotel is a 265-room, 13-story hotel designed by the Studio Gang architecture company and developed by Urban Villages, a Denver-based real estate development company to redefine what a sustainable hotel could be.
“At Urban Villages, we saw a clear opportunity and responsibility to lead a new chapter in sustainable hospitality as hotels contribute significantly to carbon emissions,” said Jon Buerge, president at Urban Villages.
Carbon Positive
In 2015, Urban Villages bid on the land where Populus now stands, presenting the city of Denver with a vision to not only create the country’s first carbon-positive hotel, but also to help revitalize the surrounding Civic Center Park neighborhood, Buerge said. “Every decision we made in the concept and design of Populus, from eliminating onsite parking to integrating carbon-reducing materials, was rooted in this long-term sustainability mission.”
The goal with Populus was to fundamentally shift what people think is possible in hospitality. “As the first carbon-positive hotel in the country, Populus sets a new standard, proving that hotels can be developed and operated in ways that sequester more carbon than they emit, while also being financially viable,” Buerge said. “We believe real estate shouldn’t just be sustainable, it should be regenerative. That’s the lens we brought to every phase of the project. Rather than limiting harm, we designed Populus to actively contribute to environmental restoration. It’s a blueprint for how hospitality can and must lead in solving the climate crisis.”
Being carbon positive means the hotel is sequestering more carbon than it emits over the entire lifecycle of the hotel. Populus was designed with that goal from day one, Buerge recalled.
“We reduced embodied carbon through a combination of sustainable construction techniques, including the use of Holcim’s ECOPact low-carbon concrete and a continuously insulated façade system, and intentionally eliminated onsite parking to lower our transportation footprint,” he said. “We offset our remaining impact by acquiring 7,000 tons of certified carbon credits and planting over 70,000 trees across 172 acres in Colorado in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service.
“We continue to offset our operational carbon footprint throughout the hotel’s lifetime through reforestation and regenerative agriculture partnerships including our One Night One Tree program, where we plant a tree for every night’s stay. We also use an on-site biodigester to divert 100 percent of food waste from landfills, converting it into compost for local farms, completing the cycle from farm to table, and back to farm.”
Sustainability wasn’t a feature—it was the foundation, Buerge insisted. “Our team has always believed that real estate should be regenerative, not just less harmful,” he said. “We saw Populus as an opportunity to prove that you can deliver meaningful environmental impact and strong financial returns. We have seen this through many of our projects at Urban Villages and understood how to translate profitability and sustainability into the hospitality space, especially as sustainable travel has continued to be a factor when travelers are booking hotels.”
The Design
To create Populus required a motivated team, including architecture firm Studio Gang, Pittsburgh studio Wildman Chalmers Design in partnership with New York-based interior architect of record Fowler and hotel operator Aparium Hotel Group.
The design of Populus Denver began with a walk in the woods, where Jeanne Gang, founder of Studio Gang, drew inspiration from the growth processes of Colorado’s native aspen tree, Populus Tremuloides—an instantly recognizable symbol of the state, Buerge recalled. The building’s defining feature is a series of distinctive windows whose geometry is informed by characteristic patterns found on aspen trees. Each window is designed to evoke the dark, eye-shaped marks left behind on the bark of the trees, which shed their lower branches as they grow.
One of the biggest challenges was securing approvals for the aspen-inspired design and sustainable materials, Buerge said, but each detail was critical to bringing the vision to life and creating a building that seamlessly integrates nature into the city.
Populus was a natural fit for Wildman Chalmers Design from the beginning, said Heather Wildman, principal and design director at the firm. “We had worked with Urban Villages for years, so there was already a strong understanding of their mission and values around sustainability,” she recalled. “From the start, this felt like the kind of opportunity we care deeply about, where sustainability is not treated as an add-on but is integrated into the entire design process. It was also creatively energizing to collaborate with Studio Gang and bring the architectural metaphor of the aspen tree into the interiors in a way that feels immersive and emotionally resonant. We also spent time walking through Colorado’s aspen groves and [were] struck by the variety of textures and colors we observed within just a five-foot radius, which became a major inspiration and helped shape the palette and overall feel of the interiors.”
One of the biggest challenges was the sheer volume of daily decisions and the need to approach each one with intention, Wildman recalled. “Every choice, from materials to layout, was made through the lens of asking how we could do better, whether that meant choosing something reclaimed, locally sourced or with a longer lifespan,” she said. “That level of rigor required time and trust, and thankfully, Urban Villages supported a pace that allowed us to slow down and have those important conversations. It was a highly collaborative process rooted in shared values and attention to detail.”
Buerge said Urban Villages intentionally eliminated onsite parking, which is almost unheard of for a new-build hotel in downtown Denver. That decision helped lower the hotel’s carbon footprint and encouraged walkability in the Civic Center Park neighborhood.
Urban Villages also selected non-traditional, low-carbon materials like ECOPact concrete and reclaimed wood, which required additional approvals and coordination. “These weren’t compromises in our eyes; they were necessary steps to achieve our mission of creating a carbon-positive hotel and setting a precedent for responsible hospitality,” Buerge continued.
One of the biggest challenges Urban Villages faced was pushing against traditional real estate models to create something truly climate positive. With Populus, that meant securing approvals for low-carbon materials and navigating delays tied to the aspen-inspired design.
“Every decision, from eliminating onsite parking to using ECOPact concrete, was intentional and often unconventional, but critical to achieving our vision,” Buerge said. “Populus proves that sustainable development can be beautiful, functional and financially sound. We’ve applied that same mindset to projects like RailSpur in Seattle, where we’re transforming historic buildings through adaptive reuse to reduce environmental impact and revitalize urban spaces.”
Looking Ahead
One of the things Wildman is most proud of is how closely the interiors reflect the story of the aspen tree. Each level of the hotel symbolizes a different part of the tree, from the forest floor to the canopy, which helped guide the palette, tone, and spatial progression throughout. “The underground root system, where individual trees are all connected and support each other’s growth, became a powerful metaphor for emotional and visual connectivity across the design,” she said. “That inspiration, combined with carefully selected sustainable materials and a focus on soft, layered detailing, helped us create a space that feels grounded, intentional and enduring.”
While some might see sustainability and luxury as very different values, Urban Villages operates the opposite way. “At Populus, we’ve proven that sustainability doesn’t mean compromise—it can elevate the guest experience,” Buerge said. “From the beginning, every design choice was made to minimize impact while enhancing beauty, functionality and comfort while tying to a sense of place. We used materials like beetle-kill pine, reclaimed snow fencing and biodegradable carpeting not only because they’re better for the planet, but because they create a rich, tactile connection to nature. We’ve shown that conscious travel can be immersive, luxurious, and inspiring when sustainability is embedded into every layer of the experience.”
Urban Villages designed Populus to be a model that others could follow. The developer has opened Populus Seattle in the RailSpur District, within the historic Westland Building, a historic building in Seattle’s waterways and rail network for more than a century. Originally built in 1907, the space has been restored to preserve its original brickwork, massive Douglas Fir beams and intricate ironwork, while reimagining it for a new era of sustainable, design-forward hospitality.
“It’s a proof of concept for how new construction can address embodied and operational carbon through thoughtful design, nature-based partnerships and long-term accountability,” Buerge said. “We’re already seeing how this approach is inspiring developers, investors and city leaders to rethink what’s possible. And we’re applying these same principles to our adaptive-reuse projects, like Populus Seattle, to show that carbon-positive hospitality is scalable across different formats and locations.”
To learn more about Hotel Populus, Jon Buerge, president of Urban Villages, will explore The Future of Green Cities in a fireside chat at this year's The Hospitality Show, Oct. 26-28 in Denver. Buerge will explore how sustainable urban development and eco-forward hospitality are reshaping cities and boosting long-term profitability.
This article was originally published in the September edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.