This Saturday and Sunday, you can wander through almost 70 of our city's architectural treasures. It's a great opportunity to get free entrance into that tantalizing mansion you pass or even a modern building that looks a bit odd.
It's also overwhelming to choose just a few. So Denverite reached out to architecture firms across the city to hear which ones you shouldn't miss. Here's what they had to say.
3. Byron White Courthouse
I pass this building on the way to the gym and have never thought about it. But the government's description for this building -- "clad in white Colorado Yule marble" and "28 foot barrel-vaulted ceilings" -- have me rethinking that. Here's what one expert had to say:
"This is a beautiful neo-classical building originally built as a Post Office but artfully converted to a courthouse. The building is a treat both on the exterior and interior."
-- Brit Probst, principal at Davis Partnership Architects
2. Union Station
I know, you've probably already been here. But consider this your reminder that pretty much everybody, including Bon Appetit and the New York Times, likes going here. Here's why our experts recommended it:
"I believe it is the core of our city."
-- Brandon Anderson, principal at LIVstudio
"This project demonstrates that when you craft a project well, the space will live on through time. The original Station was an example of beauty, proportion and craft and was given new life as central hub, revitalizing Denver for decades to come."
--Brad Tomecek, founder of Tomecek Studio Architecture
1. Clyfford Still Museum
This was the overwhelming favorite for the one location that you shouldn't miss during Doors Open Denver. Normally, it costs $10 to go into the museum, so be thrifty and go this weekend. Here's why:
"It is probably one of Denver's best modern examples of craft, scale and light. The design attention paid to the project shines through in the details and in the way the cast concrete ceiling filters day light."
-- Brad Tomecek, founder of Tomecek Studio Architecture
"The building was designed to complement Still’s abstract expressionist paintings. The museum is Denver’s best cast-in-place concrete structure. Another unique design feature is the perforated concreted ceiling that provides natural light to the upper floor galleries."
-- Stephen Dynia, principal at Dynia Architects
"It's the best building built in downtown in 20 years."
-- Brent Mather, design principal at Gensler
"For anyone who hasn’t toured this building yet, it’s a wonderful work of contemporary design executed impeccably in concrete. One of the city’s great works of architecture in a neighborhood full of them."
-- Brit Probst, principal at Davis Partnership Architects
