Studiolowe Design reuses Denver's Republic Tower
DenverIn 2025, the U.S. built environment faces a frightening contradiction: an oversupply of vacant high-rise office buildings and an acute shortage of affordable housing. With nearly 40% of downtown office space vacant and a housing deficit of 30,000 units, the need for creative solutions is paramount. The problem, however, is that 90% of unused commercial towers are not suitable for simple residential conversion due to deep floor slabs that limit natural light. This is where StudioLowe Design steps in with its “Well-Ness Affordable Housing” proposal and develops a prototype of a systematic approach to converting large commercial high-rise buildings into high-quality housing.
All images and videos courtesy of StudioLowe Design
adaptive reuse of underutilized commercial towers
The traditional solution to adapting deep floor plates – taking floor space from upper floors to create a central light well – is costly and undermines the goal of increasing housing supply. StudioLowe Design's Well-Ness Affordable Housing concept offers two innovative solutions prototyped for Republic Tower, a 134,000-square-foot building that was nearly foreclosed on in 2023. These strategically spaced, multi-story light wells optimize conditions for residential units, allowing for improved natural lighting and ventilation while preserving every square meter of rentable space.
A before and after photo of Republic Tower's wellness makeover
The concept aims to reduce costs and increase revenue. Adaptive reuse can reduce construction time by six to twelve months and achieve cost savings of up to 30% compared to new construction. Unlike traditional remodels, the Well-Ness approach maintains the building's full area ratio (FAR) by using a moderate 10-foot cantilever to replace the floor space taken away for the light wells. Structural costs are minimized through the use of existing concrete slabs and the introduction of sustainable, modular solid wood construction into the newly exposed shells that line the light wells. By converting the top 30 floors of the Republic Tower alone, up to 780 new one- and two-bedroom apartments can be created.
Perspective of the changing facade within the Denver skyline
Beyond the impressive number of housing units, Well-Ness Affordable Housing corrects the aesthetic shortcomings of previous affordable housing models. It offers an alternative to both the uniform stigma of modernist housing and the ubiquity of the superficially differentiated “Lego building” aesthetic. The modification of the tower, which occurs only on the top 30 floors (where neighboring buildings do not block the light), creates functional and formal variations. Each wellness atrium forms outdoor plazas that provide residents with exceptional communal spaces, transforming a late-modern behemoth into a model of resilient, architecturally distinguished and high-quality affordable housing.
layered outdoor spaces and terraces created by the wellness remodels
Perspective of a place in the sky created by intersecting light shafts
a second elevated space created by the intersecting wellness atriums
Looking down into the intersecting side light shafts
Axon detail of the solid wood additions to the base plate modifications
three example floor plans
Project info:
Project name: Affordable living space to feel good
Designer: Studio Lowe Design
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