Public Architecture: The Art Inside

Curtis Fentress was born in North Carolina, and graduated with honors from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. After leaving a position with I.M. Pei, Fentress joined the newly formed firm Kohn Pedersen Fox to continue his pursuit of large-scale public projects while striving to bring humanism to civic buildings. In the late 1970s, KPF sent him to Denver as project designer for a 36-story tower in Denver. In 1980, Fentress founded his own firm and later was awarded the opportunity to design Denver International Airport, which propelled him into the international realm. DIA, Incheon International Airport and numerous museums, convention centres and other civic buildings have earned Fentress Architects more than 300 awards for innovation and design excellence. Curtis Fentress, FAIA, RIBA, is the 2010 winner of the American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award, the highest honour in public architecture worldwide. Mary Voelz Chandler has pursued a long career writing for newspapers and magazines, including more than 20 years as art and architecture critic for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. Over the past four decades, she has authored five books and has held reporting and editing positions throughout the United States. Her interest in the relationship of art, architecture, preservation and people inspired coverage that has won numerous awards. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Chandler is a graduate of the journalism school at the University of Missouri.