How can we honor and celebrate individual identities while simultaneously fostering a sense of community and togetherness?

On the surface, celebrating individuality while building a sense of community might seem contradictory. However, bringing these elements together creates a powerful opportunity to embrace the complexity of our lives—the gray areas beyond normative binary thinking—through a joy-filled activity: roller skating.

Rainbow Dome is a queer-centric hub that uses art and activity to facilitate authentic community formation. Their work centers joy, recognizing it as a vital state of being that supports physical and mental health while increasing the resilience of their community. As an organization that prioritizes the well-being of Denver’s Queer; Black, Brown, and Indigenous; disabled; and neurodivergent communities, Rainbow Dome aims to provide a refuge from the bombardment of anti-queer and anti-Black hate and violence. It achieves this by creating a social space that fosters joy, silliness, and play, all while being accountable to the diverse needs and desires of its equally diverse communities.

The design of Rainbow Dome embraces this dynamic balance, showing that honoring individual identities and fostering collective connection are not mutually exclusive but, instead, deeply intertwined. This concept is reflected in the art style of spin art, where vibrant colors are applied to a spinning canvas. The paint spreads in unpredictable patterns, intertwining and overlapping through motion to create a collective experience. Yet, even within this harmony, the individual colors remain distinct.

This idea evolved into a broader design concept: by creating a place where people can experience joy and playfulness through collective motion, we move together and become interconnected. In this shared journey, we feel the heartbeat of collective being, celebrating both our uniqueness and our unity.

Located in an existing two-story building along a heavily trafficked road, Rainbow Dome’s lower level features a skating rink that doubles as a flexible space for various entertainment experiences, such as live music and DJ events. The main level offers spaces designed to foster community, including a black box theater, a café, and an entry lobby that highlights the community’s artistic talents through murals and other artworks.

Rainbow Dome will be a space that not only brings people together but also serves as a model for how a values-based design approach can improve our environments and strengthen our communities

Location: Denver, CO
Sector: Public / Community Spaces
Status: In Progress, Estimated Completion 2026
Size: 29,000 sf
Services: Architecture, Equitable Design Consulting, Community Engagement
Project Type: Commercial