Since that announcement, the MCA has established a breakneck pace in terms of events. This past fall, the museum sent out more than eighty Requests for Qualifications to architects and firms around the world. The MCA received 37 responses and then selected six finalists. In February and March, the six -- Snøhetta AS, Adjaye Associates, Gluckman Mayner, TEN Arquitectos, Rick Joy Architects and Predock_Frane Architects -- each made a public presentation in Denver. The public response was so tremendous that the presentations had to be moved to the Temple Events Center from the original venue, the auditorium at the Botanic Gardens.
Finally, on Monday, MCA director Cydney Payton -- after teasing the moment with anecdotes -- announced that the winner is Adjaye Associates of London.
"Falling" (from left), "Hanging" and "Shooting," by Andy
Miller, patinated aluminum and
neon.
"El Mundo," by Evan Colbert, mixed media on panel.
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The critically acclaimed architectural firm is headed up by David Adjaye, who has been nicknamed the "it" architect of the moment because of his mega-fashionable designs; he is also called "Prince Charming," a reflection of his ready success and do-no-wrong track record. Adjaye Associates has quickly gained international fame since it was founded in 2000, but Adjaye, who is only in his late thirties, was famous even before that as a partner with William Russell in the highly successful firm of Adjaye & Russell.
Adjaye & Russell was acclaimed for its widely published interiors and residential commissions for several well-known arts figures in Britain, including actor Ewan McGregor, fashion designer Alexander McQueen and painter Chris Ofili, a former classmate of Adjaye's at the Royal College of Art. Like Ofili, Adjaye became associated with the YBA group -- the Young British Artists -- who emerged in the 1990s and created an international sensation. (Interestingly -- or would that be ironically? -- the Denver Art Museum has a fair amount of YBA material.)
Adjaye has a special interest in fine art and even calls himself a "conceptual" architect, making him a perfect fit for Denver's MCA, which could be called a "conceptual" museum. Adjaye's understanding of what Payton calls "the theory and practice of contemporary art" is probably what cinched the job for him.
Though Adjaye was not present for the announcement, he issued a statement that read, in part, "This project is an opportunity of a lifetime...(and) it is with deepest gratitude, I accept this challenge." Adjaye will be introduced at the MCA's annual meeting on Tuesday, April 20.
The next step for the MCA and board president Karl Kister is to launch a capital campaign to raise $10 million. Fundraising will begin at the end of the year, with a hoped-for completion date of the building set for 2006. I can hardly wait.
