to walk into a room that doesn’t look like rooms that we would normally be in.” Sharp said that was exactly what the museum was looking for in their expansion. He said the museum's board was seeking the opportunity to draw people to the city. Martin Building On January 10, 2018, the Denver Art Museum broke ground on a comprehensive renovation of its iconic North Building—the only completed structure in North America designed by renowned Italian architect Gio Ponti. One of the first-ever high rise art museums, the North Building was renamed in 2019 in honor of Lanny and Sharon Martin, who made the lead gift of $25 million to revitalize the building as part of the museum's ongoing campus transformation project. Additionally, the Elevate Denver Bond Program contributed $35.5 million in funding to DAM's project. The renovation includes updates to all seven floors of galleries, the creation of new learning and engagement spaces, as well as a new restaurant, cafe, and the Sie Welcome Center. The design includes skylights, which reveal new aspects of his design, and exterior site improvements such as lighting as well as revitalizing the glass tiles on the façade of the building. Machado Silvetti and Denver-based Fentress Architects are the design teams behind the $150 million project slated for reopening timed to the building's 50th anniversary in 2021. When Ponti's original structure was built in 1971, it was designed to accommodate 100,000 visitors per year. In 2017, the museum estimated an average attendance of 850,000 visitors annually. To accommodate growing audiences, the museum's renovation project will add more than 72,000 square feet (6,689 m2) of new and refurbished gallery and visitor spaces, in addition to the implementation of crucial safety and infrastructure upgrades. Sie Welcome Center As part of the Denver Art Museum's major transformation project, the new Sie Welcome Center was constructed to create a new visitor-friendly entrance to the Martin Building and as a connector to the Hamilton Building. Named in honor of Anna and John J. Sie who pledged $12 million in support of the project, the round, glass-clad structure designed by Machado Silvetti and Fentress Architects will serve as the Martin Building's new visitor entrance and ticketing center. When the Sie Welcome Center opens, it will be home to The Ponti, a restaurant focused on local ingredients led by James Beard Award-winning chef Jennifer Jasinski, as well as a more casual