Abstract:

Museum buildings have clear behavioral functions; they also have symbolic functions, to express the privileged space and valuable objects they contain. Our ideas about what art museums should look like in the United States have changed significantly throughout the past 150 years of the building type’s history here. In the 1990s, the number of museums built grew exponentially, and often these buildings are works of art in their own right.

This research looks closely at a recently-completed museum building in Denver, Colorado. Placed in a regional city in the middle of the United States, the Denver Art Museum explicitly wanted to replicate the success of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao with its new wing, making the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building the perfect site for an in-depth study of the Bilbao-era paradigm for museums, its connection to urban issues, and what effects the form has on art display. This case study utilizes a multi-method approach, with findings based on interviews with key stakeholders, archival data, and direct observations of the building and the spaces it creates.

From the beginning, the Hamilton Building had functions to fulfill beyond preserving and displaying art: it was to be its own fundraising tool, to represent Denver to the world and the Museum to Denver residents, and to draw cultural tourists in the same way that the Guggenheim museum drew tourists to Bilbao. As such, with a bond approved by the voters, the selection committee hired Daniel Libeskind as the primary architect, based on his personality, political savvy, and exuberant conceptual design.

The resulting building has few vertical walls or horizontal ceilings. It has galleries for the Modern and Contemporary, the African, and the Oceanic art collections, in addition to space for travelling exhibitions, a lecture hall, and a large museum shop. Across the newly-created Martin Plaza, a parking garage is wrapped in retail and residences; the parking garage was required by the city, but the wrapped functions were part of Libeskind’s plan for the urban spaces around the new building. In these ways, the Hamilton Building fulfills the explicit requirements of the bond.

The form of the building also fulfills more symbolic functions. Its image is used as one of six in an international marketing campaign to boost tourism to Denver. The grand opening drew crowds for 35 straight hours, and membership and first-time visits both went up during the first year the building was open, and the Hamilton Building is a recognizable icon and a landmark. The building is written about in the local, national, and international press, and while not all comments are positive, it does draw attention to Denver. The irregular spaces for art push curators and exhibition designers to be creative in how art is displayed, even changing art display tactics in the older, square-walled building. Artists generally like creating art specifically for the space, and one of the most successful shows in the building allowed visitors to watch art getting created and installed—an idea that was completely new to the Museum.

In conclusion, a new museum type has emerged, one where the building is as important as the art. This building type serves as a fundraising and advertising tool, not only the museum but also the city.