Most people who have traveled through Denver International Airport will remember the tent-like structure that envelops the Great Hall, with white fabric stretched over the roof’s distinctive peaks and light flooding in.

The structure was the brainchild of two architects: Curtis Fentress and the late Jim Bradburn, who died recently, just as the airport marked its 30th year.

Colorado Matters recently interviewed Fentress about his collaboration with Bradburn and, in particular, how the design came to be after the original architects were fired due to budget overruns.

Here’s what we learned.

On sketching the initial design:

Fentress and Bradburn sketched out the initial design while sitting at the bar of the Warwick hotel in downtown Denver. Bradburn was on the “technical side,” while Fe

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