Archinect - News

OMA takes exhibition design to new levels at the reopened Denver Art Museum

2021-10-26T17:06:00-04:00

As part of the newly reopened Denver Art Museum renovation project, OMA has transformed the design galleries of the iconic Martin Building in order to better display, exhibit, and communicate the museum’s robust holdings in architecture and design.

The remade space features two new galleries and an educational studio named for designer and art collector Ellen Bruss.

Photography by James Florio

OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu described the opportunity to work within Ponti’s seminal work as “an exciting exercise,” offering his opinion that “Much like his design philosophy, the role of design seems to grow and diversify exponentially. A direct consequence of design ubiquity is accessibility and literacy, and we wanted the galleries to react to these changes.”

Photography by James Florio

“The three spaces pose new ways of seeing as well as interacting with objects and materials,” he continued. “They present different spatial and programmatic identities but work collectively as a platform for s...

Check out the newest photos of the Denver Art Museum expansion ahead of its weekend reopening

2021-10-22T17:06:00-04:00

The wait is over at one of the most important synoptic collections in the western U.S. As part of a 50th-anniversary celebration of its iconic Gio Ponti building, the Denver Art Museum (DAM) will officially reopen on Sunday following a four-year $150 million facelift and campus expansion by Machado Silvetti and Fentress Architects.

Kemper Courtyard at the Denver Art Museum. Photo by James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum.

The expansion was necessary to unify the Golden Triangle campus. A new welcoming center is combined with the Hamilton Building designed by Daniel Libeskind to form a less “standoffish” offering for a visitorship that has nearly doubled in the past ten years.

Revitalized Gio Ponti tube entrance into the Martin Building. Photo by James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum.

The upgrade plan has emphasized increased space for the public alongside a corrected program which had to be rearranged after the introduction of Libeskind’s bu...

Denver Architecture Foundation releases new audio tours of Downtown Denver

2020-08-07T12:25:00-04:00

The Denver Architecture Foundation (DAF) has launched two free audio tours featuring 24 locations of notable structures across Denver. The tours highlight over a century of architectural history throughout the region through dynamic storytelling and presentation.

"DAF values historic preservation as a means of celebrating diverse architecture, honoring styles and stories across distinct eras and protecting places that signify the heritage of our city and state," said Pauline Herrera, DAF executive director in a recent Mile High CRE article. "The audio tours provide a unique opportunity to encourage exploration of our city and an understanding of its history, architecture and landscape. In telling these stories through an experiential means, DAF seeks to maintain our community’s collective commitment to existing landmarks and to protect the integrity of future landmarks."

The audio tours are split into two "journeys" titled Downtown Denver: A Game of city and Empire Builders and Civi...

Denver Art Museum delves into the "Serious Play" behind Mid-Century Modernism

2019-07-09T11:00:00-04:00

Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America, an exhibition currently on view at the Denver Art Museum (DAM), delves into some of the more joyful aspects of 20th Century design.

Highlighting works by Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, Henry P. Glass, Herbert Bayer, Eva Zeisel, and Alexander Girard, among others, the colorful and whimsical exhibition seeks to position play as a primary "catalyst for creativity and innovation," according to a press release.

Armchair for Braniff International by Alexander Girard. Image courtesy of Wright.

The exhibition, co-organized with the Milwaukee Art Museum, is co-curated by Christoph Heinrich, director of DAM, Darrin Alfred, curator of architecture and design at DAM, and Monica Obniski, curator of 20th and 21st Century design at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Presenting over 200 design objects, including drawings, models, textiles, ceramics, playground equipment, and furniture, the exhibition argues that during the Mid-Century era, material innova...

There’s going to be a lot more lounge-friendly outdoor space

2019-01-21T14:15:00-05:00

Roof decks are increasingly a Big Thing in Denver — as they should be in a city so warm and sunny — and the Denver Art Museum is getting in on them.

Ashley Dean reports in from a recent presentation Denver Art Museum Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer, gave on the North Building Project expansion.

OMA dazzles in Denver as it creates Dior's first retrospective in the United States

2018-11-19T15:39:00-05:00

The Denver Art Museum is featuring: Dior: From Paris to the World, an exhibition featuring the history and design evolution of one of the world's renowned fashion houses. Now open to the public, the museum is to showcase over 200 couture garments, artworks, artifacts, accessories, jewelry, photographs, and more. With the exhibition being the fashion house's first retrospective in the United States, the design team at OMA and Shohei Shigematsu develop a visual timeline of Dior's iconic work that can be shared with its American audience.

OMA’s exhibition was designed to create a visual narrative of Dior's ethos and its long history of creativity and materiality. Spatial organization was key for the overall interiority of the space. Much influence was taken from the natural forms and contemporary design of the Hamilton Building. The museum pathways and display armature are complimentary of the building's ...

In the spirit of Ponti

2016-12-30T00:18:00-05:00

DAM has spent considerable sums in the past decade on new buildings—practically rivaling what much larger museums in New York and San Francisco have expended for new construction and renovation projects in that same time period. The Hamilton Building, completed in 2006, cost $100 million. And just two years ago, DAM moved its administration offices into a new $12 million building on the campus.

Earlier this month, Josephine Minutillo reported on the plans by Denver Art Museum, for an $150 Million upgrade and addition to it's Gio Ponti building.