Still beautiful. Denver's City and County Building is on the Doors Open Denver tour.
April is Architecture Month, the AIA’s annual celebration of building design. It’s a great chance to bring a little attention to the work of local firms and get the good citizens of Colorado to look twice at the thing built around them.
The centerpiece, of course, is the city event, Doors Open Denver, which invites people inside some of Denver’s best buildings. This year’s theme is “City Beautiful: Then & Now,” so the focus is on large public projects, some restored, some updated for contemporary use. Check out the list, there are several interesting projects in the mix.
There’s a Brad Cloepfil lecture, some film screenings and the annual Box City events, which teach kids about design.
It all starts Friday. Here’s the schedule, straight from the AIA’s press release. I’ll write more about the event and make some picks next week:
Friday, April 5
Citizen Architect Film Screening
Time: Noon – 2 p.m.
Presented by: AIA Colorado West
Location: Wheeler Opera House (320 E. Hyman Ave., Aspen, CO 81611)
Cost: Free
Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio is a documentary film on the late architect Samuel Mockbee and the radical educational design/build program known as the Rural Studio.
Friday, April 5
Chief Theater Restoration Presentation, Reception, and Citizen Architect Film Screening
5 – 6 p.m. – Reception & Charrette
6 – 7 p.m. – Presentation
7 – 9 p.m. – Film Screening
Presented by AIA Colorado West
Location: Historic Chief Theater (813 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487)
Cost: Free
The evening will begin with a brief charrette discussing design solutions for the communication towers at 7th & Oak in Steamboat Springs. A reception and presentation about the restoration efforts of the Chief Theater will follow. Finally, attendees will view the film, Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio, a documentary on the late architect Samuel Mockbee and the radical educational design/build program known as the Rural Studio.
Friday, April 5
Open Studio! at Hangar 41
5 – 9 p.m.
Presented by AIA Denver
Location: Hangar 41 (825 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204)
Cost: Free
Open Studio!, which invites members of the general public into architects’ workspaces, is an initiative with the purpose of reaching out to the community at large, raising awareness of architects as thought leaders and demystifying how they are making a better world through design of the built environment.
Saturday, April 6
AIA Colorado South Box City for Kids
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Presented by AIA Colorado South
Location: Eagleview Middle School (1325 Vindicator Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80919)
Cost: Free; however, reservations are requested to ensure entry. Call 303.446.2266.
Participate in this unique children’s event that promotes an understanding of historic preservation and urban design by combining art, architecture, creative thinking, city planning, design, construction, fun and learning into one comprehensive educational experience. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade (accompanied by adults) will experience the design and construction industry firsthand by requesting permits, ordering materials and designing and constructing buildings into a cardboard city. AIA-member architects and design professionals will offer advice and assistance to participants.
Thursday, April 9
Brad Clopefil: The Limiting Field Presentation
5 p.m.
Presented by The University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Design Program and sponsored by AIA Colorado North, AIAS CU Boulder, and Saunders Construction
Location: CU Boulder Environmental Design Building (1060 18th Street, Boulder, CO 80302)
Cost: Free
Brad Cloepfil, AIA, founding principal of Allied Works Architecture, will discuss recent projects in the U.S. and abroad, as well as the ideas and principles that form the basis of the firm’s work. As architect of the Clyfford Still Museum, Cloepfil will focus on how these were realized in the museum’s design and construction, and will discuss the challenges, opportunities and lessons of creating a single-artist museum in Denver’s Civic Center.
Friday, April 12
Bird’s Nest Film Screening
7 p.m.
Presented by AIA Colorado West
Location: Library Hall (1289 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487)
Cost: Free
Bird’s Nest: Herzog & de Meuron in China is a documentary about the building between two cultures, two architectural traditions and two political systems. Christoph Schaub and Michael Schindhelm show two very different building projects in China by the Basle-based star architects Herzog and de Meuron: the National Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and an entire district in the town of Jinhua. One is tailored to China’s international appearance; the other caters for the daily needs of the population.
Saturday, April 13
AIA Denver Box City for Kids
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Presented by AIA Denver
Location: Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building, Atrium (201 W. Colfax, Denver, CO 80202)
Cost: Free; however, reservations are requested to ensure entry. Call 303.446.2266.
Participate in this unique children’s event that promotes an understanding of historic preservation and urban design by combining art, architecture, creative thinking, city planning, design, construction, fun and learning into one comprehensive educational experience. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade (accompanied by adults) will experience the design and construction industry firsthand by requesting permits, ordering materials and designing and constructing buildings into a cardboard city. AIA-member architects and design professionals will offer advice and assistance to participants.
April 13 and April 14
Doors Open Denver “City Beautiful: Then & Now” – Expert and Self-guided Tours
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sponsored by AIA Denver and presented by The Denver Architectural Foundation in conjunction with the City & County of Denver
Headquarters Location: McNichols Building (144 W. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80203)
Cost: Free; however, tickets for expert-guided tours are limited to two per person and two tours per day per person.
Explore Denver from the inside out while visiting some of the city’s best-known and lesser-known architectural treasures. Pre-registration for all expert tours will take place at the Doors Open Denver headquarters. These tours have limited capacity and run 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Alternately, self-guided tours may begin at any participating Doors Open Denver location.
For more information, including a map and the complete list of more than 70 participating sites, visit www.doorsopendenver.org.
April 16 – 30
Exhibit at Pitkin County Library
Presented by AIA Colorado West
Location: Pitkin County Library (120 N. Mill St., Aspen, CO 81611)
Cost: Free
Exhibit will include projects by local AIA-member architects which exemplify not-for-profit and pro-bono work.
Friday, April 19
My Architect Film Screening
7 p.m.
Presented by AIA Colorado West
Location: Chief Theater (813 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487)
Cost: Free
My Architect, A Son’s Journey is a documentary by director Nathaniel Kahn as he searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.
Thursday, April 20 (TENTATIVE)
TBD Film Screening
10 a.m.
Presented by AIA Colorado West
Location: CinéBistro (141 E. Meadow Dr., Vail, CO 81657)
Cost: Free
More information to come. Visit www.ColoradoArchitectureMonth.org.
Friday, April 26
Sketches of Frank Gehry Film Screening
7 p.m.
Presented by AIA Colorado West
Location: Chief Theater (813 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487)
Cost: Free
Sketches of Frank Gehry is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Sydney Pollack and produced by Ultan Guilfoyle, about the life and work of the Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry.
Saturday, April 27
AIA Colorado North Box City for Kids
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Presented by AIA Colorado North
Location: Youth Activity Center (415 E. Monroe Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80525)
Cost: Free; however, reservations are requested to ensure entry. Call 303.446.2266.
Participate in this unique children’s event that promotes an understanding of historic preservation and urban design by combining art, architecture, creative thinking, city planning, design, construction, fun and learning into one comprehensive educational experience. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade (accompanied by adults) will experience the design and construction industry firsthand by requesting permits, ordering materials and designing and constructing buildings into a cardboard city. AIA-member architects and design professionals will offer advice and assistance to participants.
