Bluff Lake Nature Center Walking Tour

DAF Member tickets go on sale on April 13 at 4PM MST. Pending availability, non-member tickets go on sale April 20 at 4PM MST. DAF Membership will be verified upon ticket purchase. Click here to become a DAF member.

About the Tour: Discover the story behind Bluff Lake Nature Center’s brand new building that officially opened to the public in February 2026. Explore the thoughtful, holistic design approach that shaped every detail, from intuitive wayfinding and seamless site access to inviting shaded outdoor spaces and inclusive accessibility features. Step inside to see how indoor and outdoor environments are seamlessly connected, with dynamic classrooms, welcoming public areas, and flexible workspaces designed to support both visitors and staff. Along the way, you’ll uncover the innovative sustainability strategies woven throughout the project and get a behind-the-scenes look at the collaborative journey from concept to completion, bringing together the client, contractor, owner’s representative, and design team.

About Bluff Lake Nature Center: Located in the heart of northeast Denver, Bluff Lake Nature Center is a 123-acre wildlife refuge that welcomes over 100,000 visitors a year. BLNC educates individuals to be engaged, resilient, and curious; conserves a natural area in the city; furthers equity in outdoor access; and nurtures and restores the health and well-being of communities and ecosystems.

The building is a 5,000 square foot Net Zero public lobby, educational facility, and administrative hub for the organization. The design is conceived as a gateway to the larger landscape, drawing guests through the structure and into the site. It is designed to blend into the landscape and direct views to the ecologically rich site below and mountain ranges in the distance. Large overhangs create outdoor classrooms, gathering areas, and collaboration spaces, while also supporting photovoltaic panels to meet the Net Zero goals.

About the Tour Guides: Rachel Hutchens has been the Executive Director of Bluff Lake Nature Center since 2018. Rachel has helped grow the organization’s education programs, diversified and strengthened the organizations income sources, and worked to increase the site’s accessibility to diverse communities. Rachel was a part of the University of Denver Institute for Leaders in Development 2022 cohort and attended a Women’s Executive Leadership course at Yale University in 2023. Rachel has led the $8.5M capital campaign to fund the Campus Improvements Project, as well as been instrumental in the design, management, and organizational sustainability of the project.

Stacy Passmore, PLA, AICP is a Principal and Co-Founder of Superbloom. Bringing vision and design leadership, she excels at synthesizing complex systems to create transformative and innovative landscapes. Stacy received a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a Masters of Community and Regional Planning from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts from New York University. She is committed to collaborations that celebrate the relationship between humans and ecological systems, work which she explores through built projects, publications, design research, and site-specific installations.

Accessibility: This facility is fully accessible, including a wheelchair-accessible pathway that provides access to the lake. For additional information, please visit Bluff Lake Nature Center accessibility page here.

Refund policy: The Denver Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization. Ticket sales support the Foundation in continuing to provide quality events to the public. We are unable to provide refunds or credits for any reason less than 48 hours prior to the event.

Please note that DAF tours take place rain, snow or shine. If your tour includes an outdoor portion, please dress for the weather. DAF staff will contact all attendees directly should a tour be cancelled for any reason.