Progressive Colorado (continued)? And a green liquor store?

Again, I am not bagging either Colorado or Denver, I am just always hoping for a bit more from our elected leaders and business owners.

First off, something truly progressive: a green liquor store, for Denver residents the Argonaut liquor store is building a new shop that will look really nice and be green to boot. Here is the story: (Argonaut Liquors goes Green)

Okay, so now lets talk renewable energy, yes the state has a mandate for 20% renewable by 2020. This is something that I truly applaud, but that is not the point. Lets take this one step further, here in Colorado we have some truly great facilities for renewable energy: NREL, School of Mines, CU, CSU and others. What I am envisioning is a facility that brings all of these entities together under one roof. This building would not only house aspects of these entities, but would also provide space for aspiring businesses, allow classes to take place here and also open the spaces for corresponding schools and businesses (i.e. organic restaurants, green manufacturing facilities, DU's environmental law department, Johnson & Wales' marketing department and students from the Colorado Institute of Art), really the list is only as small as the imagination of the people involved.

An addition to my above concept here is New Mexico working a similar concept dedicated to solar: Solar Program in New Mexico

On the architecture front, where is the innovation and creativity? The new buildings are all copies of ones built five years before in New York or LA. We have embraced TOD and New Urbanism, yet we continue to take other cities ideas and copy them, why not take it a step further and innovate or build something better. I know that there are communities and towns that are building other great things in Denver, and if you know of any please comment and let me know about them.

Lastly my question to Denver why have an architect redesign Civic Center Park and not a noted landscape architect it is a park not a museum?