Since 2004, the International Architecture Awards—organized by the Chicago Athenaeum and The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies—have recognized and celebrated innovation in the field of architecture. Each year, the program spotlights the most striking new buildings and design projects across the globe. This year, two U.S. hotels received accolades: Populus in Denver, Colorado, and The Post Hotel in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Both properties showcase very different approaches to hospitality design, but each pushes boundaries in ways that caught the judges’ attention.
Downtown Denver's bold new landmark, Populus, is no ordinary hotel—it’s a sculptural, eco-conscious tower that nods to the shapes of the Aspen trees of the Rockies (the Latin name for aspen? Populus tremuloides). Its façade ripples with vertical scallops, each one the width of a guest room. Windows shift in size and shape depending on whether they frame a lobby, a restaurant or a room with a mountain view.
The “eyes” of the building echo the dark markings left behind when aspen trees shed their branches. The poetic angled window ledges are practical too, as they shade rooms from Denver’s intense sun and funnel rainwater efficiently. Inside, the windows double as alcove-like seating, turning the views of Civic Center Park and the State Capitol into immersive backdrops.
Populus also scores with sustainability. There’s no on-site parking—a first for a new downtown Denver hotel—encouraging greener transit. Its concrete mix minimizes cement with fly ash, and the green roof doubles as both a wildlife habitat and a social hangout. Taken together, it’s a hotel designed to reconnect urban travelers with nature, right in the city’s heart.
While Populus looks ahead, The Post Hotel leans on history. Set to open in 2026, the 36-room boutique property fuses a restored 1892 red-brick building with a sleek new five-story addition. The old structure retains its industrial character, while the new tower adds a light brick façade, a dramatic glass gasket connecting past and present, and a rooftop terrace with views of downtown Bridgeport.
Inside, the two buildings intertwine, as original brick walls meet airy, light-filled corridors. A central void brings sunshine into the hotel’s core. The mix of spaces includes ground-floor restaurants and retail, a lower-level speakeasy, and a plaza for outdoor dining. The goal is bigger than hospitality. By bringing in boutiques, a flower shop, a sneaker/skateboard/vinyl store and a restaurant lineup, the owners hope The Post becomes an anchor for Bridgeport’s downtown revival.
2025 International Architecture Awards winners, Hotels
Resort Deer-Chaser Yuchi—Nantou, Taiwan
Populus—Denver, Colorado, USA
The Post Hotel—Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA
Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island—Platte Island, Seychelles
Dialogue with Nature-Commune Store—Mount Wuyi, Hubei, China
Raffles Hotel and Resort—Trojena, Saudia Arabia
Buruj Hotel—Baghdad, Iraq