Denver Art Museum - Gio Ponti Building - Denver, CO
Photographed 2015
Photographed 2015
The North Building of the Denver Art Museum, now renamed the Martin Building, was designed by iconic Italian architect Gio Ponti in collaboration with Denver-based James Sudler Associates. Completed in 1971, the structure marked Ponti’s only built project in North America and remains a rare example of late-modernist museum design in the United States.
Architects: Gio Ponti with James Sudler Associates
Completed: 1971
Design Inspiration: Italian modernism, fortress-like forms, and interplay of light and shadow
Renovation: Restored and reopened in 2021, led by Fentress Architects and Machado Silvetti
Awards: AIA Colorado Design Awards (post-renovation), landmark status
I photographed the building in 2015, drawn to its sculptural façade and unusual rhythm of cutout windows, which create a shifting dialogue with the sky throughout the day. Ponti envisioned the building as “a castle for art,” and even decades later, it continues to assert a bold architectural presence in Denver’s Civic Center.
© 2015 JC Buck
