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Denver Art Museum: Razor-Sharp Profile Cuts Into a Mile-High Cityscape

nytimes.com — Bold forms and tortured geometries dominate Daniel Libeskind ’s addition to the Denver Art Museum, creating mesmerizing architecture and a daunting place to install or view art.

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  • supernova17, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2006/10/11/arts/20061012_LIBESKIND_SLIDESHOW_1.html
    • jguerry, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3it's horrible. what a waste of space. there's a reason why rectangular buildings are built. what a horrible architect and waste of space. it stands out, but not in a good way.
    • msipes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I got to see it a couple weeks ago while visiting back home. Amazing looking IMO.
      The Great American Beer Festival rocked!
    • sragzorz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Rectangular buildings are built because they are cheap. Regardless of if you think its the worst architecture or the best, they are doing something different, being bold, and having fun. Its great to mix things up once in a while.
  • schnoggi, on 10/12/2007, -17/+11who hired that pretentious little *****?
    it's like the museum that gasbag Eisenmann did, all look at me how avant-wank I am, totally distracting from the main event: the ART ON DISPLAY. he embodies why so many architects are seen as effete and disconnected. Yeah this is a wild building, very radical, but that seems to be all it's really about, just look at me look at me...totally insecure, waste of attention.
    • brizznady, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6You are ridicules, and you obviously have no clue about art. Architecture is a form or art.
    • kimos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I saw these images and the first thing I thought was...
      "I wonder how far away Denver is? I should go."

      The answer, unfortunately, is that Denver is too far away from Canada to drive.
    • falstaff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's kind of cool in a "this is what people thought the 21st century would look like in 1960" sort of way.
    • gregdigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0schnoggi, do you need a hug?
  • SectorNation, on 10/12/2007, -9/+11I live in Denver and drive West on 13th avenue every morning on my way to work. I used to see the mountains when I came over the hill. Now all I see is this ugly thing.

    Mountains or ugly architecture? Hmmm.... Tough choice... Not.
    • adjustafresh, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3"Not"

      Keep on saying it; it'll come back around again. Still wearing flannel shirts and ripped jeans too?
    • hinkbot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I still wear flannel.

      ...psyche!
    • umdigger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I've been to it twice now and I still like it. The interior is much more interesting that the exterior. Granted they could have done a better job positioning some of the art work.

      But if you have a problem with having this block your view of the mountains, perhaps you should bring up the fact that it is not taller than most buildings around it which undoubtedly block the mountains more. (or drive faster)

      Speaking of mountains, some ski resorts are opening this weekend/today. Time to go skiing.
    • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've been there once myself and really like it, inside and outside. It has a nice view from the sculpture garden on the second floor. The art inside is modern and thus of somewhat questionable beauty, but still interesting to see.
  • brianbennett, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It's certainly an interesting structure, but the circulation (movement of people) must be pretty bad, especially for a museum.
  • jsoto81, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I like it, it reminds me of something out of krypton. Very space-ie
    • NoNom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Either that or a hobby knife cutting into the ground.
  • Vulc4n, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6I don't care what the rest of you think... I think its awesome.
  • patience, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5@schnoggi: architecture IS art. And you are a windbag. Nothing about this building is effete. In fact, it looks like a stealth bomber. Stop hating what you can't do.
  • SectorNation, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13The people flow IS horrible. This guy is a talentless hack, not an architect. Architects take into account how the building FUNCTIONS and INTEGRATES WITH and COMPLIMENTS its surroundings (NATURAL and otherwise). To this guy, these are all a distant set of after-thoughts. The outside form is first and foremost to him. Period.

  • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I've been meaning to check this place out.
  • Aaronichi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1These plans had been on display in the DAM for at least 5 years. If I remember correctly, it was kinda big news when they posted it too. Who was the article written by, Arthur Dent?
  • 98acura, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Id be pissed if that was placed in view of the front range.. I miss colorado...
  • ratbear, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Gutspiller-

    That is nothing compared to the Gehry monstrosity known as Experience Music Project that us Seattle residents have the displeasure of laying eyes upon.

    http://www.archinfo.com.tw/building/archi/images/200012/00121601-b.jpg
  • nx01, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I always get a little skeptical when someone wants to create a "modern" structure since they don't seem to date very well. I live in Milwaukee, and when they got the new museum approved, I was prepared to no like it.

    Boy was I wrong.

    I purposely go out of my way to look at this thing. It's still a pretty big deal to people to see the wings open and close (they act as a massive sunscreen). Best part about it, is that it costs the taxpayers painfully little. The project's reported USD $110 million was nearly 100% financed through private donations.

    http://www.mam.org/thebuilding/photo_gallery.htm
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Art_Museum
    • jmchez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Calatrava is a sculptor, architect and engineer. Liebeskind is just a charlatan.
  • lib24, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2it's too chaotic for my tastes... interesting nonetheless.
  • colokevin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7This article was written from the perspective of an elitest NY architectural critic. It may be fair to admonish this building if it had just been built in NYC but the author needs take a cold shot of perspective and realize that it was built in Denver, Colorado. A city that has only started to be known for things other than the Broncos and its close proximity to ski resorts. Any addition to a city's cultural landscape should be welcomed otherwise we'll doom ourselves to the neverending sprawl of cookie-cutter office parks and track homes.
  • verlynmerlyn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://aroundtheusa.net/index.php?board=2.0
  • morgan1976, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I like it. But then again, I don't live in a place with such natural beauty. I can see how it can be an eyesore. The main problem I see here is that everyone here seems to blame the architect. Think what you will about the architect and the design, but why not blame the city council or whoever approved the design for the museum? I mean, it's not like the guy just built it and then Denver was stuck with it. This had to go through a long process of approvals.
    • umdigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This building is right down town Denver. There isn't much natural beauty down there. Personally I think it's a welcome change to the area. Now if only they could get rid of the homeless and drug dealers in the park a quarter mile away....
  • ahawks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I live near Denver, so I reserve the right to make fun of my own state's capitol.

    "Profile Cuts into a Mile-High Cityscape"

    and the picture at the top of the article shows this building as the only thing in sight taller than 1 story. Quite a cityscape ya got there, Denver.
  • Briankb68, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It looks like the jawa's sandcrawler from Star Wars.
    • No13Baby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That was the first thing that came to my mind, as well.
      I think it's pretty ugly.
  • jsls, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Ugliest building ever created? Yeah, probably....well not quite....it is in the same town though, the Denver Library that was designed by Michael Graves was deemed "ugliest building" in the whole nation....Personally I like both buildings and this new addition to the Denver Art Museum is pretty cool.
    • GyroLC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Denver Library is actual about 40 feet from the new art museum wing; they share a courtyard. You cannot see the library in the NYT picture, I believe the library is directly behind it. Double trouble.
  • spacemanspork, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0bah that looks like a rip off of the Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles. Except of course the Disney Concert Hall isn't so pointy. I dunno, maybe it's just me thinking that.

    http://z.about.com/d/losangeles/1/0/N/1/disneyhall0001.JPG
    • ThatsUnpossible, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That's because Lebiskind loves to copy Gehry, who designed the Disney Concert Hall (which actually looks very cool compared to this *****).
    • gregdigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They are both buildings, I'll give you that.
  • Durendal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The article is pretentious fluff, but the building is nevertheless one of the coolest structures in Denver. I was disappointed by the interior--they cheaped out on the lighting, and the walls could use some accents--but the building actually flows very well from section to section; when it was the most crowded, I had little or no trouble navigating from exhibit to exhibit. You wouldn't think that by looking at it.

    The art on display inside is pretty bad. I didn't like any of it.




  • gcpeart, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This same guy designed a nearly identical structure for the Royal Ontario Museum, its currently under construction. I find it conceptually interesting, and I can't wait until the construction is finished here in Toronto, but I'm really flabbergasted by his blatant duplication of his own ideas. Doesn't he get paid big bucks to be creative?
  • TrevorBradley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I visited Denver 3 years ago for a conference.

    I visited the Denver Art Museum (the old one) and it was by far the most interesting portion of the trip.

    Denver itself felt dead though. There was barely anyone on the main strip (16th?) compared to Vancovuer/Grandville st, even on Friday/Saturday night.
  • bnolsen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Looks bad to me. I live in Denver but grew up in St Louis. I really liked the art museum there. Very classy neo roman architecture.

    Art should be a combination of both emotion and reason. Modern art seems to totally ignore the second part of the equation.
  • Stormwysper, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Nice work of art to house work of arts. I like to see the critics posting here to design something better.
  • drumsnstuff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2There are a few of these angular constructions recently completed in Denver... Personally, I think the new addition Colorado Convention Center pulled it off without over-doing it.

    http://www.apigroupinc.com/headlines/colorado-convention-center.php
  • Pie_Man, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Cool! That looks kinda like the one they built in Chattanooga a couple of years ago.

    http://www.mswphoto.com/Hunter_Art_Museum.jpg

    I wonder if there is any relation?
  • markp93, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1note to self: do not go skydiving near denver, co.
  • SmithEsquire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1careful! you'll put an eye out with that thing!
  • smaki611, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You know, honestly I like it. I think it is good, and truly something different. Personally, though the building is different, it is definitely not the biggest eye sore in the mile high city.
  • brizznady, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just got back from the DAM. Great Building!!!! And it works great for most of the exhibits. But you can get dizzy near the top, as the angels become more apparent. Still Awesome. The building is the coolest. Just Awesome.
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