'This is less a story about architecture than it is the emerging 21st-century city, a bout reconnecting the things we spent the previous century tearing asunder.'

摘要

The Denver International Airport, a wide-open 53-square-mile expanse of tarmac and dust, appears on the horizon like a mirage, an oasis of white tents on an otherwise featureless plain. It opened 20 years ago, built in the middle of nowhere, some 25 miles from the heart of Denver, a long drive on the interstate from pretty much everywhere. In that respect, it's a typical 20th-century undertaking, a monument to urban sprawl. In other ways it's unique. For one thing, the Denver International Airport (DIA) is that rare U.S. airport that doubles as an architectural icon. The main terminal, named Jeppesen (for the pioneering aviation navigator Elrey Jeppesen), with its white fabric roof, a mountain range in miniature designed by Curtis Fentress, FAIA, is truly lovely, especially from the air, especially at sunset.