Local architects give nod of approval to new wing

The Fine Arts Center was Morey Bean’s favorite building as he was growing up in Colorado Springs. It inspired him to become an architect.

So Bean had reason to be skeptical when he returned to the museum Monday as part of a group of local architects and artists previewing the new wing.

The visitors, chosen by The Gazette and invited by the Fine Arts Center, flowed through the first-floor galleries, taking in works from the permanent collection that had recently emerged from years in storage. They trekked upstairs into the large echoing space for traveling exhibitions, where the Weisman Collection of pop and illusionist art would soon be hung. Finally, they stopped in the glass atrium nicknamed the “jewel box” — designed to glow at night off Cascade Avenue.

“This has always been my favorite building in the world,” said Bean. “It still is!”

In Bean’s view, David Owen Tryba — the Denver-based architect who designed the expansion — has stayed true to the 1936 pueblo-meets-art-decoinspired vision of John Gaw Meem.

Tryba, for example, left the exterior of the original building untouched wherever possible — resulting in several raw interior walls.

Still, in some places, the visitors agreed, it’s difficult to tell where the old building stops and the new one begins.

At the same time, the impression of the museum has evolved. Its gallery space has nearly tripled in size, gaining about 18,000 square feet.

And although it’s bigger, the building as a whole feels lighter and airier. Tryba worked with glass — drawing on advances in glass technology — in the same way that Meem used aluminum, the hot new material of his day.

The final product is a building that seeks to resolve contrasts — light versus dark, symmetry versus asymmetry, the past and the future.

Initial impressions from sneak peek

Stuart Coppedge architect, RTA Architects

“It’s so easy to navigate ... And it’s nice to have a sense of the outside coming in. People live in Colorado Springs because they like to be ‘out there.’ You can be ‘out there’ inside this building. You can see the sky.”

Beth Kosley executive director, Downtown Partnership

“The steps even feel good, don’t they? The vast space of the second-floor gallery, you couldn’t get that from the drawings or renderings of the plans ... It really feels like a big city here. We can finally get the caliber of art that we want.”

James Fennell architect, The Fennell Group

“There’s lots of openness — a connection to the exterior and public spaces and beyond. It combines the public and private. ... I think it’s a vast improvement. With Gaw Meem, it was so inward.”

Roger Sauerhagen architect, CSNA Architects

“I think it’s good that we can’t always remember how (the building) was before.”

Morey Bean architect, Colorado Architecture Partnership

“This is a quantum leap for Colorado Springs. It’s almost like we’re re-establishing the presence we had when the Broadmoor Academy was famous in the ‘30s and ‘40s.”

Elaine Freed historic preservationist and architectural writer

“These vistas will always remain exciting. They just won’t get old.”

Michael Collins architect, Michael H. Collins Architects

“I’m sorry you’re not getting any criticisms! ... Some of these criticisms and maybe the nitpicking ... some of these things manifest themselves when shows come through. Which is a good thing!”

Jessica Hunter Larsen Colorado College art curator

“The building physically itself is gorgeous. As a curator, the walls are delicious. I really appreciate the attention to regional arts and regional culture, being at the foot of Pikes Peak, and how this can connect to the national and international scene.”

Don Goede creative director/publisher, Smokemuse Media

“I think a lot of artists are going to be intimidated by (the museum), because there isn’t a segue between the community art and the permanent collection. I’ve been into hundreds of galleries around here, and there’s just great art there.”

Kat Tudor artist, creative director, Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts

“I’m so excited, my blood is leaping around! ... I’d like to discuss the bathrooms. Are they still in the basement? (No, they’re now on the first floor.) Thank goodness for that!”

Insider insights

David Owen Tryba Tryba Architects, Denver

“Architecture is like frozen music (quoting Goethe). We inherited the score. As a conductor assigned to reinterpret that score, the way was clear.”

Michael De Marsche Fine Arts Center president and CEO

“It’s a building that works — that we can actually hang art in.”

Blake Milteer center curator, 19th-21st Century American Art

“One of the great things is the openness of this building. ... We want shows to really balance between the challenging and the beautiful. And that should be centered on the art — the building is just the edifice.”

Tariana Navas-Nieves center curator, Hispanic and Native American Art

“When we got here and there were so many vast, white, straight walls — we were thrilled! ... I think the bold new era is key. I think as fabulous as the Denver Art Museum is, they’re still very classic and traditional in what they’re going to exhibit. We’re really going to push the boundaries, raise eyebrows. We understand, not everything is going to be liked.”