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CURTIS FENTRESS & THE CHANGING FACE OF DENVER’S ARCHITECTURAL LANDSCAPE

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is buildings grace the skylines of cities around the world and are visited by over 350 million people each year. A placemaker in the

truest sense of the word, internationally renowned architect, Curtis Fentress, calls Denver home and is responsible for designing and implementing the city’s most iconic landmarks. Denver International Airport, the Colorado Convention Center and Sports Authority Field at Mile High stadium are just a few stamps in his passport of icons that represent the city he calls home. Fentress’ philosophy is built on designing places for people, but what happens when the dynamic of people is changing? Retiring baby boomers

and well-educated, ready-for-the-workforce millennials, are influencing housing patterns and changing the way Coloradans do business. They are the cause of a noticeable shift in the architectural landscape of the Mile High City. It is fortunate for Denver, that it has Fentress— a man from whose hands spring architectural masterpieces like fistfuls of tossed confetti. And while the landscape of architecture might be changing, Fentress’ message regarding the importance of creating a sense of place is not. His achievements stand proudly around the city he calls home, and serve as a reminder to design with integrity, a notion, like a compass, that will continue to point Denver’s skyline in the right direction.

Curtis Fentress is responsible for creating some of Denver’s most iconic

landmarks. And, as Brittanny Havard finds, he also has seasoned insight

into Denver’s architectural future.

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page 11 Photo credit: ©Scott Dressel-Martin

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To understand where a city’s architectural landscape is headed, you have to be knowledgeable about its past, and Fentress has been learning Denver for over thirty five years. Fentress grew up in North Carolina, and graduated from North Carolina State University’s College of Design, School of Architecture. He then moved to New York City where his architectural career blossomed. After eight years in New York City, Fentress came to Colorado to design the Amoco building that dominates the end of 17th street. “Designing that building brought me back and forth to Colorado a lot in the 1970s and I loved it and thought it was a fabulous place. The mountains, skiing, lack of humidity—all the wonderful things that attract people here today were very appealing to me. I commuted a lot in the 1970s and in the 1980s. I thought, that’s it—I’m moving here.” One of his most recognized projects, locally and around the world, is Denver International Airport. “Every project we’ve done has a long story how it comes about. We were given a job to complete the airport, a job somebody else had started. The mayor didn’t like the building; he said he wanted something similar to something he had seen in Australia. I thought to myself, the Sydney Opera House?” For Fentress, the Denver International Airport project was about relating the structure to the most inspiring, most recognized, thing in Colorado. “Here, it is the mountains,” said Fentress, “so that was the design of the terminal building. What about Denver is different versus Omaha, or Denver versus Los Angeles? It could be the mountains that make a place unique, in Los Angeles, it could be the people.” DIA was a difficult undertaking for Fentress from a design standpoint. It is not always easy to design an infrastructure building that is elegant and unique, especially with a timeframe of a matter of weeks to complete the project. “I was told I was $75 million over budget, to start,” said Fentress. “Myself and my team made the impossible possible, and I was surprised we’d accomplished it.” Three weeks after taking on the project, Fentress had designed the gateway to the west, $40 million under budget. He earned himself the reputation of a hybrid architect; capable of developing iconic designs reflective of the region’s culture, while remaining within budgetary confines associated with high profile public architecture projects.

“Myself and my team made the impossible possible,

and I was surprised we’d accomplished it.”

-Curtis Fentress on designing DIA

PHOTOS

This page: Top: Denver International Airport © Ellen Jaskol Bottom (left): Denver International Airport © Timothy Hursley

Opposite page:Top (right): Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium © Jamie Schwaberow/RCA CreativeBottom (left): Jefferson County Gov. Center Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing

Despite the newfound recognition Fentress garnered after completing the DIA project, he had to compete to design the Convention Center. “There was a competition for developers to come up with a convention center,” said Fentress. “David French, developer of the Colorado Convention Center, asked where it should be, I said the 14th street location because it was near all the hotels. We didn’t own any land, so we drew a line on a map around where we thought it should be. It’s about relating the building to the city and the hotels and moving the building into downtown as close as possible to the restaurants, Larimer square—the places that conventioneers want to go to in the evening.” The build of the convention center had two phases. “In phase two, we had much more of an opportunity to remake the structure into a dramatic piece of architecture,” said Fentress. We tipped that big blade up Speer Boulevard. The way it’s lit up in the evening says ‘something exciting is going on over here’. The architecture relates to the dancing sculptures, and it re-defines the skyline from various vantage points, making it too an iconic building. Those big blades on the convention center are reflections of the Flatirons—common, Colorado landforms.” Fentress’ next stamp in Denver’s book of icons came with the design of the Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium. “In the

design for that building, we were trying to relate the stadium to a place, the West. The upper crown of the building profile is in the shape of a saddle for the Broncos. Sometimes it’s easy to see what we’re working with; sometimes it’s not so easy to see. But it’s interesting.” Cheerfully referred to as the “Taj Mahal” of Golden, the Jefferson County Government Center—yes, one of Fentress’ designs too, gave a sense of identity back to a community. “The design for that project evolved. We were supposed to design an office building and then were asked to add a courthouse to the project. We were working with two bold project types, then, we joined the two with an atrium space. Turn right to the court house, left to office space. It became apparent to us that overnight, what we had created had become the most important building in Jefferson County,” said Fentress. “Jefferson [county’s] problem was that all the services were spread out and people couldn’t find them. We placed a dome on top of the atrium, a very Jeffersonian schema, and the consequence is that the building is like a big lantern in the evening. You can identify this big building, next to this very big highway. It has an identity that is important to everyone that is trying to find it.”

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While Fentress’ recent works are icons today, Denver’s architectural scape was one of transition, with stop and go along the way. “At the turn of the century, when Union Station was built, there was an influx of people moving to Colorado from the East and West,” said Fentress. “Architects were designing buildings that you might in see in San Francisco or Chicago, which were just larger towns then than Denver is today. A lot of historic architecture was removed in 1960s and 1970s due to urban renewal. Then, about three 50-story buildings were built the 1980s, which was the last of the big building boom. Not a lot happened downtown until the [Colorado] Convention Center. Today, it’s a different story. Now we see things like the Four Seasons, and the Spire building. There are new hotels popping up that didn’t exist here six or seven years ago. There are new, exciting, pieces of architecture on the skyline.” New business is also changing the architectural landscape of Denver. “The central business district is being ringed by these ten thousand apartments that are being built,” said Fentress. “They will provide a nesting place for all young people moving here. They are starting new businesses. They are renting desks by the hour. Who’s to say that one of these businesses won’t be the next Google or Facebook? Denver’s never been a corporate headquarter, but who’s to say that’s not the direction it’s going.” Fentress sees a clear shift in the residential architectural styles of the metro Denver happening right now, from when he first entered the Denver architectural scene. “People here are getting more sophisticated in terms of what they want and what they like. This level of sophistication runs from people in the Four Seasons to people who are looking for micro condos.” “Baby boomers that have been living in Cherry Hills want to move to areas with less maintenance so they can come and go. Young people want the same thing—mobility, coupled with access.” As Fentress sees it, “They don’t need to have ownership of cars and clothes and records the same ways their parents did. I see that as a big trend. Many people are setting up businesses like cars to go, or downloading music, not buying it. Luxury today is smarter, not bigger.” Elements of Fentress’ architectural style can be seen in his own residence, currently listed for sale with brokers Douglas D. Kerbs and Peter Blank of LIV Sotheby’s International Realty. Located on the 40th floor of the luxury Four Seasons private residences, Fentress’ home offers comfort, function, durability and style—his top design priorities. Fentress’ coined “airside-to-curbside” traveler experience that serves function at DIA, is paralleled in his own home, which contains many elements with the primary

purpose to serve function. “Our lifestyle isn’t about cooking every day, it’s more about entertaining,” said Fentress. Custom Varenna cabinets serve as the foundation for his kitchen island where white Ceasarstone countertops create a central hub for social gatherings and a distinctive bar area, characterized by a colorful splash, adds depth to an otherwise austere palette. How the Jefferson County Government Center provides comfort to a community, by giving them a sense of identity, Fentress’ home offers comfort in its convenience. “For me it’s an easy way of life here. Everything’s close, it’s not all the hassle of a big city,” said Fentress. “At The Four Seasons in Denver, it’s an easy community to make friends and conduct business.” And finally, from the durability and lastingness of Colorado’s Flatirons, to the shape of Denver’s saddle-styled football stadium, Fentress’ home is both durable and of course, stylish. A painted glass fireplace provides color and warmth, while a lamp in the form of a black stallion and a pig offering butler services add a playful motif to the original design. The family room and dining area are enveloped by windows overlooking Denver and the foothills, reminding Fentress of his favorite time of day. For him, most memorable are the evenings, when the light transforms the sky into a kaleidoscope of colors spanning across the Denver skyline, and early in the morning, when the sun comes up across the plains, the airport, his own design, is visible in the distance.

“Luxury today is smarter, not bigger.”-Curtis Fentress

PHOTOS

Top (left): Jefferson County Gov. Center Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Bottom (left): Curtis W. Fentress

Jason A. Knowles © Fentress ArchitectsBottom (middle): Curtis Fentress’ residence at the Four Seasons

Bottom (right): Denver International Airport Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing

Though Colorado’s architectural landscape is changing, one thing remains consistent; with architecture, you have something to show for it. “It makes me feel good to know I, and a lot of other people in my office, had a hand in making important elements in community. That’s one thing I love about being an architect. I like making things exciting, dramatic and iconic and you have a physical product to show for your work.” Fentress is famous for thinking about the future with his designs, and redefining architecture, based on the needs of people. “Architecture is closely attached to the economy and what our economic needs are. Thereby it ebbs and flows with the needs we all have. At present, we only need one airport, one convention center, one football stadium; we have met the market with those—and now there’s a big push for apartments with the new condo laws, so they’re not building condos, but they are building apartments to fit those needs. Take the example of the start-up businesses, perhaps we’ll need a corporate campus for all the businesses that grow, and that might be the next big turn.” For further details on this exclusive offering, contact LIV Sotheby’s International Realty brokers, Douglas D. Kerbs at 303.898.7818, or Peter Blank of MileHiModern at 720.849.1956. To service all of your real estate needs visit livsothebysrealty.com.