DENVER — On Thursday, Dec. 6, the Denver Art Museum (DAM) marked a major milestone in its North Building renovation project with a topping-out celebration. Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock joined museum Director Christoph Heinrich on site to provide some brief remarks and sign the welcome center’s final structural steel beam before crew members from Saunders Construction put it into place. The next phase of construction will involve setting the structural glass around the welcome center.
Originally designed by Italian architect Gio Ponti and Denver-based James Sudler Associates, the North Building opened to the public in 1971 and has since become a landmark destination for Coloradans and tourists. Its seven-story silhouette is celebrated as one of the first-ever high-rise art museums, and its revitalized design has been realized by Fentress Architects of Denver and Boston-based Machado Silvetti, with Saunders Construction as the construction partner.
“As company headquartered in the Denver area, Saunders is proud to partner with the Denver Art Museum and the design team to help the museum expand its ability to serve the community. With a lot of dedication and hard work, the construction crews have reached an important milestone with completing the steel structure of the new Anna and John J. Sie Welcome Center. I am excited to bring my family to what will be a remarkable art museum experience,” said Justin Cooper, vice president at Saunders.
The $150 million project kicked off in early 2018 after receiving $35.5 million from the voter-supported Elevate Denver Bond Program to make critical infrastructure improvements to the North Building as well as to construct the new welcome center, which will be named the Anna and John J. Sie Welcome Center upon its completion.
The project remains on budget and on time to fully reopen the DAM’s campus toward the end of 2021.
Featured image courtesy of Saunders
