Fentress Architects
Encyclopedia
Fentress Architects is an international design studio known for sustainable and iconic public architecture. Founded in 1980 by Curtis W. Fentress
Curtis W. Fentress
Curtis Fentress, FAIA, RIBA an American Architect, is the Principal-in-Charge of Design at Fentress Architects, an international design studio he founded in Denver, Colorado in 1980...

, FAIA, RIBA
, the firm is internationally recognized for innovative designs of international airports, national museums, convention centers, high-rise office towers, government buildings, laboratories, and other cultural buildings. Fentress Architects is an architecture firm with studios in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, Los Angeles, CA, San Jose, CA, and Washington, D.C.

Curtis Fentress was honored in 2010 by the American Institute of Architects AIA Awards website with the highest award for public architecture, the Thomas Jefferson Award. Fentress was also honored with the Silver Medal in 2010, which is the highest award given to an architect from the AIA Western Mountain Region for the contributions made to the region.

Fentress Architects is the designer of the world’s 4th tallest building completed in 2009, the Arraya Tower in Kuwait City
Kuwait City
-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...

. The tower is also the tallest in Kuwait and the 53rd tallest in the world

"I don’t begin with a preconceived notion of what a building should be – it is not a sculpture. I prefer to patiently search through extensive discovery until I find a seam somewhere, crack it open and discover the art inside."

- Curtis Fentress, FAIA, RIBA

History

Curtis Fentress
Curtis W. Fentress
Curtis Fentress, FAIA, RIBA an American Architect, is the Principal-in-Charge of Design at Fentress Architects, an international design studio he founded in Denver, Colorado in 1980...

 graduated with honors from North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

’s College of Design, School of Architecture where he received a Bachelor of Architecture
Bachelor of Architecture
The Bachelor of Architecture is an undergraduate academic degree designed to satisfy the academic component of professional accreditation bodies, to be followed by a period of practical training prior to professional examination and registration. It is awarded for a course of study that lasts up...

 degree. Following graduation, he joined the firm of I.M. Pei and Partners in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. As a Senior Designer, he was responsible for the master planning of major site development plans. He became a project designer with the New York architectural firm of Kohn Pedersen Fox
Kohn Pedersen Fox
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates , an architectural firm responsible for several world-renowned buildings, provides architectural, interior and urban design as well as programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors...

. During this time, he came to Denver as Project Designer for the Rocky Mountain Headquarters of Amoco in downtown Denver.

In January 1980, Fentress formed C.W. Fentress and Associates, with James Henry Bradburn. The firm first earned recognition in the early 1990s for airport design. Fentress first revolutionized airport design by “flipping the airport upside down” with Denver International Airport. The terminal’s peaked roof has become well known to travelers worldwide. For the first time, an airport became the symbol of a city. DIA Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...

 with its iconic peaked canopies suggesting at once, both the Rocky Mountains and the rugged covered wagons that opened the Colorado frontier, was a critical success.

Unfortunately, the unveiling was marred by a dysfunctional “state-of-the-art” baggage delivery system (the vendor at fault since replaced the system) that dominated the media. Subsequently, DIA has been voted the “Best Airport in North America” and the fourth “Favorite American Architecture” completed in the last fifteen years.

In 2001, Fentress designed the Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world...

 in Seoul, Korea, voted “Best Airport Worldwide” four consecutive years by Airport Council International’s Airport Quality Survey program. Airport Council “Best Airport in the World” in 2007 by passengers surveyed for the Official Airlines Guide. The firm designs a range of large scale projects (see listing below) from museums and conventions centers to stadiums and commercial office buildings.

Bradburn retired and, in 2007, the firm’s name was abbreviated from Fentress Bradburn Architects to Fentress Architects. The firm maintains studios in Denver, CO, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, CA and San Jose, CA, with a staff of about 150.

Highest award for public architecture: Curtis Fentress will be honored in 2010 by the American Institute of Architects AIA Awards website with the highest award for public architecture, the Thomas Jefferson Award. The Jefferson Award recognizes Fentress for “a portfolio of accomplishments that evidences great depth while making a significant contribution to the quality of public architecture.” The award is a testament to Fentress’ vision, design philosophy and excellence in public architecture for the past 40 years. In the last 18 years since the Jefferson Award was first bestowed, only 7 architects have been recognized in the ‘private-sector architect’ category.

Best Firm to Work For: Fentress ranked as a “Hot Firm” and a “Best Firm to Work For” finalist by ZweigWhite.

Best Managed: Fentress ranked as 1 of only 11 best-managed architecture firms, the “Circle of Excellence,” by PSMJ | Resources Inc.

World’s Best Airports: Fentress-designed Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea was voted “World’s Best Airport” by Skytrax’s 2009 World Airport Awards, a survey of 8.6 million international travelers.

World’s Most Beautiful Airports:
  • Incheon International Airport
    Incheon International Airport
    Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world...


"Since its opening in 2001, Incheon, designed by Denver's Fentress Architects, has been a frequent presence at the number one spot on lists of the world's best airports. Not only is it efficient and welcoming, it is intended to be a showcase of Korean culture. The bow of the roofline emulates a traditional Korean temple, the arrival hallways are lined with 5,000 years of Korean artifacts, and the airport's wildly biomorphic train terminal is one of the few places on earth that still looks genuinely futuristic."

  • Denver International Airport
    Denver International Airport
    Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...


"Denver's airport, routinely voted the best airport in North America by business travelers, is beloved for its billowing roofline. The product of a hasty sketch by Denver-based architect Curtis Fentress, who had three short weeks to cook up a design concept, the airport features a Teflon-coated tensile fabric roof—the world's largest when the airport opened in 1995—and looks like a village of giant white tepees. The airport is at its most beautiful when you approach by air from the east and see the glowing man-made peaks silhouetted against the Rockies."


World’s 4th tallest building completed in 2009: Fentress is the designer of the world’s 4th tallest building completed in 2009—Arraya Tower in Kuwait City, also the tallest in Kuwait. Arraya is one of 14 high rises in Fentress’ design portfolio in the Persian Gulf.

Architectural philosophy

The self-effacing Fentress (one of his noted design principles is simply “restrain the ego”) has developed a personal discipline he calls the “Patient Search”. He has said of the process; “I don’t begin with a preconceived notion of what the building needs to be – it is not a sculpture. I patiently search, walk the site, study the culture, follow our process until I find a seam somewhere, crack it open and discover the art inside.” Asked about his philosophical approach, Fentress once indicated; “My philosophy is ultimately…pragmatism”.(See “Curt Fentress” biographical entry) It has been pointed out that Fentress’ practical concerns with the “curbside to airside” customer experience has been a key to the success of his airport work.

Rankings

  • Architectural Record’s “Top 150 Architecture Firms” – Fentress Architects ranked #24 among architecture-only firms
  • Building Design & Construction’s “Giants 300,” Top Architects – Fentress Architects ranked #18 among architecture-only firms
  • Engineering News Record’s “Top 500 Design Firms” – Fentress Architects ranked #29 among architecture-only firms
  • Engineering News Record’s “Top Airport Design Firms” – Fentress Architects ranked in top 25 firms
  • In 2003, Colorado Construction ranked Fentress Architects as the Top Architectural Firm in Colorado. Fentress ranked #14 in California Construction’s “Top Design Firms” in 2005.

Sustainable Design

  • 1993 Architecture and Energy Award for the Natural Resources Building in Olympia, Washington
    Olympia, Washington
    Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...

    .
  • About half of the firm’s design professionals are LEED accredited.
  • More than 60% of Fentress' projects under construction or completed in 2009 were LEED certified or pending certification.
  • 2003 LEED Gold 2.0 award for California’s Department of Education Headquarters Building, which received Platinum certification in 2006 by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
    Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
    Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

     (LEED) rating system. It was featured as a case study in the Fall 2009 issue of High Performing Buildings.


LEED certified projects include, but are not limited to:
  • Palazzo Verdi—LEED Gold
  • San Joaquin County Administration Building—LEED Gold
  • Santa Fe Community Convention Center—LEED Gold
  • David E. Skaggs Federal Building (NOAA)
  • UCI Humanities Gateway — LEED Platinum
  • California Department of Education Headquarters
    California Department of Education Headquarters
    -California Department of Education Headquarters:The California Department of Education Headquarters’ , known also as Block 225, is a component of the Capitol Area East End Complex in Sacramento, CA . The building achieved a LEED Silver rating in 1999, and later achieved LEED Gold in 2003, only...

     -- LEED Platinum

Projects

Airports
  • Denver International Airport
    Denver International Airport
    Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...

     Main Passenger Terminal, Denver, Colorado, USA Travel & Leisure
  • Incheon International Airport
    Incheon International Airport
    Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world...

     Passenger Terminal, Seoul
    Seoul
    Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

    , South Korea
    South Korea
    The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

     Travel & Leisure
  • Los Angeles International Airport
    Los Angeles International Airport
    Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...

     Master Plan and International Terminal, Los Angeles, California, USA LAX Airport website
  • Raleigh-Durham International Airport
    Raleigh-Durham International Airport
    Raleigh-Durham International Airport is a public international airport located 4.5 miles northeast of the town of Morrisville in suburban Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The airport covers and operates three runways, providing direct service to 40 domestic and international...

     Terminal 2 Redevelopment, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
    Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
    The Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...

     Central Terminal Expansion Seattle, Washington, USA
  • Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, Terminal B San Jose, California, USA
  • Sacramento International Airport
    Sacramento International Airport
    Sacramento International Airport is a public airport located 10 miles northwest of the central business district of Sacramento, in Sacramento County, California, USA. It is run by Sacramento County...

    , Sacramento, California, USA
  • Doha International Airport
    Doha International Airport
    Doha International Airport is the only commercial airport in Qatar. It has three mosques, free Wi-Fi, a duty-free area, a few eateries and 42 parking bays for aircraft. There are also 60 check-in gates, 8 baggage claim belts and over 1,000 car parking spaces.The airport suffers from...

     (Tower), Doha, Qatar


Civic
  • California Department of Education Headquarters, Sacramento, California, USA
  • City of Oakland Administration Buildings, Oakland, California
    Oakland, California
    Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

    , USA
  • Clark County Government Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
  • Colorado State Capitol
    Colorado State Capitol
    The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. The building is intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol. Designed...

     Renovations, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Jefferson County Government Center
    Jefferson County Government Center
    -Jefferson County Government Center:The Jefferson County Government Center is a consolidation of numerous governmental departments for Jefferson County, CO. Located in Golden, CO, the facility is timeless and the entire complex affords expansion capabilities for the next 20 years...

    , Golden, Colorado, USA
  • Regional Transportation Center and Flood Control District Headquarters, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
  • Sacramento City Hall, Sacramento, California
    Sacramento, California
    Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

    , USA
  • San Joaquin County Administration Building, Stockton, California
    Stockton, California
    Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

    , USA


Commercial Office & Mixed-Use
  • Arraya Class A Office Tower, Kuwait City, Kuwait -- World’s 4th tallest building completed in 2009
  • Baitek, Kuwait City, Kuwait
  • Dubai Mixed-Use Towers
    Dubai Mixed-Use Towers
    -Dubai Mixed-Use Towers:The Dubai Mixed-Use Towers, also referred to as the Dancing Sisters is a 60-plus story tower located in Dubai, United Emirates...

    , Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Kuwait Business Town, Al Sharq, Kuwait
  • 1999 Broadway, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • 421 Broadway, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Gulf Canada Resources Limited, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • JD Edwards & Co Corporate Campus, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • UniSource Energy Tower
    UniSource Energy Tower
    UniSource Energy Tower is a postmodern skyscraper that was completed in 1986. The tower is the tallest building in Tucson, Arizona and is the thirteenth tallest in Arizona. The building rises 330 feet with 25 floors. It was designed by Curtis W...

    , Tucson, Arizona
    Tucson, Arizona
    Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

    , USA
  • Palazzo Verdi Mixed-Use, Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA


Cultural
  • Army Visitor & Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
  • Buffalo Bill Historical Center
    Buffalo Bill Historical Center
    The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a complex of museums displaying artifacts and art of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. Founded in 1917, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is the oldest museum in the West...

    , Cody, Wyoming, USA
  • Draper National History Museum and Whitney Gallery, Cody, Wyoming, USA
  • Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Museum of Western Art, The Navarre, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Expansion and Renovation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
  • National Museum of the Marine Corps
    National Museum of the Marine Corps
    The National Museum of the Marine Corps is the historical museum of the United States Marine Corps. It is located in Quantico, Virginia and is open to the public with free admission. The museum had its grand opening on November 10, 2006 and is now the number one tourist attraction in Virginia,...

    , Quantico, Virginia, USA
  • National Museum of Wildlife Art
    National Museum of Wildlife Art
    The National Museum of Wildlife Art, located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a museum dedicated to presenting art about wildlife. Located on a bluff called East Gros Ventre Butte and amid real wildlife habitat, the sandstone structure overlooks the National Elk Refuge...

    , Jackson, Wyoming, USA


Laboratory
  • David E. Skaggs Research Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA
  • Natural Resources Building, Olympia, Washington, USA
  • University of Colorado Denver
    University of Colorado Denver
    The University of Colorado Denver, shortened as CU Denver, UC Denver, or UCD, is a public university in the United States state of Colorado. It is one of three schools of the University of Colorado system. The university has two campuses — one in downtown Denver at the Auraria Campus, and the other...

     (UCD), Anschutz Medical Campus
    Anschutz Medical Campus
    The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is one of two campuses of the University of Colorado Denver. It is located in Aurora, Colorado...

    , Research Complex I, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  • UCDHSC, Anschutz Medical Campus, Research Complex II, Aurora, Colorado, USA


Public Assembly
  • Arvada Center Expansion, Arvada, Colorado, USA
  • Colorado Convention Center
    Colorado Convention Center
    The Colorado Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center located in Downtown Denver. The center opened in June 1990; the first event being the NBA Draft for the Denver Nuggets. The convention center was expanded in 2004 to include several meeting rooms, two ballrooms and an indoor...

     and Phase II Expansion, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Eccles Conference Center and Peery's Egyptian Theatre
    Peery's Egyptian Theatre
    Peery's Egyptian Theater is a movie palace located at 2439 Washington Blvd., in Ogden, Utah in the United States of America. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.-History:...

    , Ogden, Utah, USA
  • INVESCO Field at Mile High
    INVESCO Field at Mile High
    Sports Authority Field at Mile High, previously known as Invesco Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, is a multi-purpose stadium, in Denver, Colorado. It replaced the identically sized, but commercially obsolete Mile High Stadium in 2001...

    , Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Palm Springs Convention Center
    Palm Springs Convention Center
    The Palm Springs Convention Center is a facility located in downtown Palm Springs, California, USA. Architect William Pereira designed the original building in 1974. The Palm Springs Convention Center recently completed a massive expansion, adding over . It can now accommodate groups from 12 to...

     Expansion, Palm Springs, California, USA
  • Pasadena Conference Center
    Pasadena Conference Center
    The Pasadena Conference Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California, near Los Angeles, owned by the City of Pasadena. It consists of three buildings.-Pasadena Civic Auditorium:...

     Expansion, Pasadena, California USA
  • Santa Fe Conference Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico
    Santa Fe, New Mexico
    Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

    , USA


Education
  • Tennyson Center for Children, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Denver Academy High School, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Mathematics Building & Gemmill Engineering Library, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado, USA
  • Humanities Gateway, University of California, Irvine; Irvine, California, USA


Hotel & Residential
  • One Polo Creek, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • One Wynkoop Plaza, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Palmetto Bay Plantation, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras
  • Tritch Building Renovation into Courtyard by Marriott, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Watermark Luxury Residences, Denver, Colorado, USA

Further reading

  • The Master Architect Series III, Fentress Bradburn Selected and Current Works (Australia, The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd., 1998)
  • Curtis Worth Fentress (Milano, Italy: L’Arca Edizioni spa, 1996)
  • Fentress Bradburn Architects (Washington, D.C.: Studio Press, 1996)
  • Gateway to the West (Australia, The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd., 2000)
  • Millennium, Fentress Bradburn Selected and Current Works, Images Publishing, 2001
  • Architecture in the Public Interest, Edizioni, 2001
  • Civic Builders, Wiley-Academy, Great Britain, 2002.
  • National Museum of the Marine Corps, North Carolina State University College of Design Publication, 2006
  • 10 Airports — Fentress Bradburn Architects, Edizioni Press, 2006.
  • Portal to the Corps, Images Publishing, 2008
  • Touchstones of Design [re]defining Public Architecture, Images Publishing, 2010
  • Public Architecture: The Art Inside, Oro Publishing, 2010


Newspaper/Magazine articles
  • "Fentress Architects' DIA work opened global doors," Denver Business Journal, December 2007
  • "Fentress has designs on Denver,” Denver Post, July 8, 2006
  • "Civic Minded Centers,” Facility Manager, August/September 2006
  • "The Seoul Experience: Incheon International Airport,” Airport World, summer 2006
  • "Airport Architecture Taking Flight,” International Airport Review, July 2001
  • "Humanistic Architecture Yields Economic Benefits,” Passenger Terminal World, June 2004
  • "Airport Architecture: a blueprint for success,” Passenger Terminal World, May 2004
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