A Sensory Smorgasbord
Park Hill-based Architect Marc Applebaum Dishes On Design, Style & Function
Interview and photo by Cara DeGette
Architect Marc Applebaum lives and works from his home, at 16th and Oneida. It is a block away from the house he grew up in. For more than 30 years, the award-winning architect has drawn, pro-bono, the beautiful renderings of each home featured in Park Hill’s annual Home Tour (see his renderings of this year’s homes on the previous two pages). In all, he’s completed more than 250 of them.
Applebaum recently sat down with the Greater Park Hill News to talk about life, design, and building a life in Park Hill.
Greater Park Hill News: Tell us your Park Hill story.
Marc Applebaum: I grew up in Park Hill and once knew every alley and backyard between my childhood home and Philips Elementary School. I attended the old Gove Junior High and then GW. My sons graduated from East. Park Hill is like a small town with a strong sense of community. It is a very pedestrian neighborhood. I still marvel at the variety of homes, the parkways, diversity and landscape of Park Hill.
GPHN: How would you describe your own approach to architecture and design? What are a few of your own best-known structures in Park Hill, Denver (or beyond)?
Applebaum: Architects are trained to be extremely aware of their environment. I enjoy the process of design. There are many aspects involved with the process of design. It can be intuitive, analytical, intellectual, esoteric, pragmatic, artistic, but in the end needs to address the client’s needs, budget, codes, the environment, culture, physics, and the nature of materials. I have designed many remodels in Park Hill, but my favorites have been the Asian influenced Craftsman Cella Residence at 1731 Forest Parkway, and the Mokrohisky Residence at 4825 E. 18th Ave. Near Park Hill, I have been involved with the design of the Denver School of the Arts and Stanley British Primary School Gymnasium. Other favorite projects include the renovation and streetscape and new buildings at Larimer Square, a residence in Todos Santos, Baja, a city hall and visitor center in Saudi Arabia, and civic park structures in Abu Dhabi.
GPHN: There are so many different designs in the Park Hill neighborhood. From an architect’s view, how does this eclectic mix work so well?
Applebaum: I think that the reason the various styles work so well are because the designs are pleasing architecturally. They create a sensory smorgasbord. The level of detail, human scaled massing, roof forms, colors, fenestration, use of quality materials and beautiful landscaping applied to a simple street and block grid leads to its success. Park Hill is a model and has the essential attributes of contemporary New Urbanism planning and urban design.
GPHN: With all of the development currently happening across Denver, what can and should we do to preserve the integrity of the old designs?
Applebaum: Old designs were once new. I feel that a lot of Denver’s rich history has been forgotten, neglected and demolished. To design structures within an historical context, the designer should not only understand and be sympathetic to the historic context, but be sensitive to design elements that create good architecture. Massing, height, use of durable materials, setbacks, the pedestrian experience, landscaping, color, sensitivity to neighboring structures help create communities that have a long shelf life and themselves become part of the city’s collection. As architect Robert Stern noted, “Architecture must be valued for what it is, has been, and will always be: an enduring public record of who we are, and who we hope to become.”
GPHN: Who came up with the idea to do artists’ renderings of the homes for the Home Tour? How did that evolve?
Applebaum: I’m not sure who came up with the idea. They are however, appropriate to the style of many houses designed in the 20’s and 30’s. Hand-drawn sketches have a quality and richness about them that recall a period when design and construction was a craft.
GPHN: Tell us logistically how you do the renderings. Do you go and sit in front of the homes and draw? Do you photograph them and complete them at your drafting table? How long does it take to complete each rendering?
Applebaum: Over the years I have experimented with pen and ink, graphic pencil, Prismacolor pencil, conte crayon, ink washes and various papers. I like to photograph the houses with the best quality of light. The photos are the basis for the drawings. Being an architect, I still like to draw at the board. I like to say the drawings take more than 30 years of experience and about three to four hours each to complete.
GPHN: At the end of the Home Tour people whose homes are featured are given signed renderings. Do you know what happens to them after that?
Applebaum: The drawings were matted by Mike Jacobson at Frame of Mind on East Colfax, who incidentally has been donating this service for many years, but has recently retired. The homeowners typically arrange for the framing of their drawings. Many times they are displayed at entries, living rooms and family rooms. Some drawings have been printed for use on stationery and others remain in the home after the owners move.
GPHN: What are some of your favorite homes, architecturally or otherwise, that have been featured in the Home Tour over the years?
Applebaum: The McDermott Home at 1750 Forest Parkway, the Mather Residence at 2334 Grape St., The Cella Residence at 1731 Forest Parkway, St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 22nd and Dexter, and the Ciancio Residence at 6020 Montview Blvd. (Art Deco, a 30’s GE demonstration house, with vintage Hollywood interior)
GPHN: Architecturally, what are three structures you admire and appreciate in Park Hill, Colorado, The United States and the World?
Applebaum:
• Park Hill: The variety of homes along 17th Ave Parkway and Forest Parkway; A Jacques Benedict home at Montview and Albion; and an Art Deco remodeling at 5000 E. 17th Ave. Parkway
• Colorado: The Clyfford Still Museum; Union Station and plaza; Red Rocks Amphitheater; and the Air Force Academy Chapel
• The United States: Monticello and The Lawn at UVA; The Getty Museum in LA; The Music Experience building in Seattle; and Highline project in NYC
• The World: Venice; The Eiffel Tower; Swiss bridges; and European cathedrals.