Did One River North Catfish Denver?

When designs for One River North were released in 2021, international media coverage lauded the “plant-filled fantasy landscape” for blurring “the lines between the built and natural environments.” One critic even preemptively declared it “the coolest building not just in RiNo, but the entire state.”

The acclaim has continued to this day. Just last week, the apartment complex at 38th and Blake streets was named a finalist in Fast Company’s global design awards.

However, seventeen months after opening, the reality of One River North doesn’t quite align with the initial renderings. The luscious plants that made the design so striking are missing. Rather than trees, vines and water features, the canyon-like crack through the building reveals only a barren, beige concrete structure.

The disparity has become a running joke among locals; one social media post arguing that the building “catfished” the city garnered nearly one million views and 50,000 likes.

But One River North spokesperson Marvin Roca Jr. says disappointed residents simply need to be patient.

“All renderings are a vision of any project at full maturity. As with any large-scale planting, especially in Colorado’s high-altitude climate, it takes several seasons for vegetation to establish and fill in,” Roca explains. “One River North was designed with a living landscape that is intended to evolve over time, and naturally evolve with the building. …We are excited to see the landscaping continue to grow and transform.”

That growth is going to take a lot of time. The plants currently in place at the building are very modest in size, hardly visible to passersby on the street.

Locals raised concerns about the ambitious landscaping as soon as the renderings were published, questioning how the lush vegetation would hold up year-round through Colorado’s cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers.

At the time, senior landscape architect Jeff Stoecklein told The Architect’s Newspaper that the building would use a variety of plant species to mitigate the risk of die-off. The strategy is intended to create a dynamic view of the building that changes with the seasons, he explained.

None of those seasonal views have come to fruition. Still, Roca pushes back against online criticism that calls the renderings misleading.

“The renderings are meant to convey the overall vision and design direction, not to depict the final product,” Roca says. “Any renderings are never the final build; they’re a standard tool to help the community and stakeholders understand a project’s scale, look, and intent, while the actual final product may evolve over time.”

One River North is sixteen stories with 187 rental units, including studios and penthouses. It opened to residents in April 2024 following two-and-a-half years of construction. It is just the third building in the United States designed by MAD Architects, a firm founded by one of China’s top architects, Ma Yansong.

Currently available units range from $1,700 per month for a one-bedroom to $14,000 per month for a premium three-bedroom.