Auraria campus sits on the site of Denver’s earliest neighborhood. This district was established in 1858 by a small group of miners. The museum is to serve as a spatial and informational depository of the past, present, and future, holding intact values of honor, remembrance, curiosity, creativity, and action. The project was initiated with in-depth research and study of the early Auraria neighborhood, the displacement of the neighborhood, and its earliest inhabitants. A significant portion of the museum space is dedicated to telling Auraria’s history (first floor, digital stands). The remaining areas are dedicated to gallery spaces (second floor) and administrative space and storage (third and fourth floor).
The museum design reflects the gold mining history of Auraria. A mining cave is represented by the simple shape of the exterior and the organic interior walls.
