Project: ULI Student Urban Design Competition- Honorable Mention Site: Denver, CO Spring 2009, 2 weeks The ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition is a graduate-level annual competition that is intended to provide an interdisciplinary learning experience for real estate and design students in the United States and Canada. The metropolitan wedge is established through the convergence of existing residential circulation patterns and emerging environmental strategies centered upon solar efficiency, storm water management, and natural light. This organizational maneuvering generates a variety of social spaces, which frame and activate the iconic architectural and natural spaces within the site. “Leveraging the Wedge” is the contemporary transit-oriented development, allowing for sequences of increased density, diverse land-use and functional open space. It accommodates housing for all ages and income, while maintaining an active public realm. The site will serve as a transitional node from suburban to urban development. The site is located in close proximity to the historic Baker neighborhood. Bakers’s adjacency to various business enclaves has established it as an increasingly popular neighborhood in south Denver. This project seeks to establish distinct linkages to existing circulation networks along Broadway and Alameda, offering a diverse public realm, which include large public lawns, recreational courts, smaller residential gardens, and an art plaza.