Machado Silvetti Architects and Fentress Architects have been hired to revitalise the Denver Art Museum, the only North American building by famed Italian designer Gio Ponti.
Completed in 1971, the distinctive museum ? dubbed the North Building ? rises seven storeys and is regarded as one of the first high-rise art museums, according to the team. It is located in downtown Denver, Colorado.

Often referred to as "castle-like", the 210,000-square-foot (19,510-square-metre) building has an irregular form that consists of 24 different sides.
The exterior walls are clad in over one million reflective glass tiles and are punctured with various-shaped apertures.

The museum is the only completed building in North America by Ponti, known for such works as the 1958 Pirelli Tower in Milan, which was Italy's tallest building until the 1990s. Ponti, who died in 1979, was also a celebrated industrial designer and the founder of Domus magazine, in 1928. The renovation ? which entails a number of upgrades ? will be designed by Boston-based Machado Silvetti Architects and local firm Fentress Architects. The team aims to stay true to Ponti's original vision as much as possible.

"The Denver Art Museum is really a one of a kind institution, and they are in love with their Ponti building," said Jeffry Burchard, a Machado Silvetti principal, in an interview with a Colorado radio station. "To them it's the most valuable piece in their collection."
The project wil...