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Michael Graves

Detail of the Central Library

Michael Graves Design

View slide show of the Graves expansion of the Central Library


Michael Graves is hailed worldwide as a co-founder of the Postmodern school of architecture. Postmodernists reject modern skyscrapers for the classical forms, natural materials and colors of centuries past. Some of Graves' best-known projects are the Walt Disney Corporate Headquarters in Burbank, California: Disneyworld Swan and Dolphin Hotels in Orlando, Florida; The Portland (Oregon) Building; and The Humana Building (Louisville, Kentucky). The New York Times calls Michael Graves "the most truly original voice that American architecture has produced in some time."
Construction of the new Central Library was funded by a bond issue approved by a 75 percent majority of Denver voters in 1990. In 1995, the new Central Library opened to nationwide acclaim. It is now the largest library between Los Angeles and Chicago, and each year over a million people visit the Central Library.


Visit Michael Graves online and view his projects, profile and products.

Online articles about Michael Graves
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Fast Company, August, 2004
A design for living: a spinal-cord infection left designer Michael Graves paralyzed. A year later, his business is more successful than ever. A story of courage, collaboration, and resilience.

Find out more! Michael Graves in DPL databases

Books about Michael Graves in the Library collection:



Michael Graves : Buildings and Projects, 1995-2003

Michael Graves: Buildings and Projects, 1995-2003 by Karen Nichols
With more than 100 projects illustrated by over 300 color photographs and architectural drawings by Michael Graves & Associates, this volume demonstrates Graves' enduring status as a leading American architect.

Michael Graves Designs : The Art of the Everyday Object

Michael Graves Designs : The Art of the Everyday Object by Phil Patton
In creating more than one thousand objects for the home over the last three decades, the acclaimed architect has elevated everyday objects-from toasters to toilet brushes-into enduring icons that have redefined the American home.

Michael Graves

Michael Graves by Julie Iovine
A leading designer of the 20th century is profiled in this book that defies the idea that design is inaccessible.

Michael Graves : Images of a Grand Tour

Michael Graves : Images of a Grand Tour by Brian M. Ambroziak
In 1960, before his architecture and product design had made him a household name, Michael Graves set out on a journey once considered essential for a young architect: a Grand Tour of the great monuments of Europe. Michael Graves: Images of a Grand Tour collects for the first time the stunning artwork he produced during this trip.

View all Library items about Michael Graves

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Updated: 01/10/08