The Denver Public Library's system of branches features many little architectural gems, some of them dating back a century, and the newest one has taken a spot in this worthy tradition. Named for late Denver Chicano activist Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, the smart-looking branch was done by Studiotrope Design Collective. There's a lively handling of the building's volumes; though basically rectilinear, some of those rectangles are set on the diagonal. The details are even livelier, and the most striking of these are the thin horizontal bars of color cladding the second floor and spilling down onto the first in places — which gives the whole thing a futuristic character.