Looking Up: When entering the Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum, visitors step into a large space which includes a spacious lobby, a gift shop, and this view of the stairs and open space when looking up. These views set the tone for a very unique museum visit. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Visitors can be seen walking down the stairs from the second level and other visitors on an upper level in the background. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
We have been off of the road and close to home for a few weeks during December and January but we are itching to get back in the RV and travel again. This post is not from the road but a local point of interest in downtown Denver.
The Denver Art Museum consists of multiple buildings but the Frederic C. Hamilton Building stands out above the rest. This building was added to the museum in 2006 and it increased the physical size of the Denver Art Museum a great amount. This post will feature the building which is an art exhibit itself.
The Frederick C. Hamilton building is a four story structure with 146,000 square feet. The exterior of the building features glass and titanium panels which cover the many angled walls and roof lines. There are 9,000 of the titanium panels covering the exterior of the Hamilton Building.
The Interior features an entrance and atrium that sets the tone for the entire space. The number of angled walls and ceilings is phenomenal.
The architect of the Frederic C. Hamilton Building was Daniel Libeskind with Davis Partnership Architects.
Since its opening in 2006 the Frederic C. Hamilton Building has been honored with many architectural awards. The build houses modern and contemporary art collections as well as special exhibits which are featured for a given time frame.
The Denver Art Museum is located in downtown Denver in the Civic Center. Photography is allowed throughout the museum as long as there are no flashes used. Some exhibits may have restrictions or not allow photos but signage will alert visitors if photography is not allowed before entering the exhibit. I appreciate these rules as the Frederic Hamilton Building has many unique features and is very photogenic.
The photos included in this post were taken during a recent visit to the museum. The weather was not conducive for exterior photography but I included one exterior photo from a previous visit.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
View From Above: A view from the third floor mezzanine looking toward the museum entrance reveals some of the angles of the unusual contemporary design of the Hamilton Building. From this viewpoint a portion of the second floor mezzanine is shown along with the stairway down to the entrance area of the building. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Upstairs Walkway: Museum visitors are seen in an upstairs walkway leading to a mezzanine area in the Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum. The mixture of exterior lighting and interior lighting along with the angled walls give the museum spaces a distinctive look. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Framed Exit: The design of this space creates a frame for the exit space going towards the stairs to a lower level. The angles of the building structure and walls create unique views throughout the museum. This is an art museum where the building becomes a part of the art exhibit itself. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Museum Shop: Even visiting the museum gift shop is unique at the Denver Art Museum. The extraordinary features of the Frederic C. Hamilton Building are seen in the gift shop just as the rest of the building. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Hamilton Exterior: In this view of a portion of the exterior of the Frederic C. Hamilton Building shows an outdoor sculpture looking toward the ‘prow’ of the building which extends outward over the adjacent street. This photo was taken during a previous visit to the museum. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
