The exposed timber structure—comprising glulam columns and beams supporting cross-laminated timber floor panels topped with a concrete slab—anchors the building’s architectural expression while reducing embodied carbon. The structure contains about 188,000 cu ft of mass timber, sequestering more than 4,100 metric tons of C02 and cutting embodied carbon roughly 38% compared with conventional construction.

T3 RiNo in Denver features a six-story mass-timber structure with exposed glulam beams and cross-laminated timber floors.
Photo by Eric Laignel

Designers worked within Denver’s 85-ft height limit for exposed timber buildings by sculpting the building mass into a series of stepped terraces that cascade up the facade. The strategy increases daylight and outdoor access while revealing the timber frame behind the glass curtainwall.

“As the facade pulls back, you start to see the timber grid behind it,” says Anthony Markese, principal at Pickard Chilton. “Even from blocks away, you understand that the building is something different.”

Engineering challenges required careful coordination among the design and construction teams. Transitioning from the concrete podium to the exposed timber frame required a concealed knife-plate base connection capable of absorbing the tolerance difference between concrete and wood construction.

Another innovation—the project’s so-called “MEP superhighway”—organized ducts, piping and conduit within a raised zone around the building core supported by short steel beams. By concentrating systems in this narrow corridor, designers preserved exposed timber ceilings and maintained generous floor-to-floor heights. Market response validated the concept. In 2023, Xcel Energy signed a full-building lease for