When Daniel Libeskind talks about the signature forms he created for the Denver Art Museum, he is quick to invite everyone inside for a look. The dynamic expression, he emphasizes, is by no means limited to the building envelope. "This is a museum where what you see on the outside is an expression of what you see on the inside: unprecedented spaces," says the architect.

Unprecedented, indeed. Libeskind's design features tilting walls that enclose dramatic, sculptural interiors. Skylights and angled slot windows streak the spaces with light and many are fitted with custom Nysan shades from Hunter Douglas. Novel exhibit displays enhance the architectural theatrics.

The palette of interior materials is surprisingly conservative. "The internal space is all the expression of function, there is nothing decorative," Libeskind explains. Inside he worked with only "glass, Colorado stone in the public areas, and flexible ceiling systems..."

The ceilings are Techstyle acoustical panels by Hunter Douglas, whose 2-by-5-foot rectangular panels add a subtle, surprising regularity through their repetition and directionality. Cutting across the ceiling planes are the deeper channels of the lighting tracks, which also happen to be the ceiling's suspension system - a two-for-one approach that reduced installed costs while also minimizing the number of reveals. More >