Renowed Rocky Mountain architect Stephen Dynia FAIA will present this lecture, concentrating on his interaction with two communities that have been a focus of his practice to date: Jackson Hole Wyoming and the River North Art district in Denver.

 

 

In Wyoming, the challenge 25 years ago was introducing progressive design ideas to a community steeped in a building tradition motivated by a bygone era of practical necessity that has morphed into nostalgia. With the objective of creating buildings and spaces that are based on experiential notions such as connection to landscape instead of theatrical constructs, examples of projects presented here will show how the work led to greater understanding of the power of architecture to serve a community.

 

In Denver, the task was to create community out of a semi-abandoned, aging, low-rise industrial context, on an “island” in view of but separated from the urban fabric at the core of the city. It will be shown how the work influenced adjacent areas that exploded into a vital neighborhood and hastened the growth of what was once considered mostly uninhabitable.