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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / SEPTEMBER 2015
Chicago Architecture Club. Membership in the prestigious
organization allowed him to rub elbows with the best ar-
chitects in the Midwest, and some of the best in the world.
He says his Chicago mentors still influence his work.
“Being around those people at that age is kind of intimidat-
ing, but it gave me the process and rigor that is so important
when you’re working to solve multiple, difficult problems,” he
says.
While Poli was designing buildings in exotic locales, Hum-
phries returned to his hometown to take a prestigious position
teaching architecture at the University of Notre Dame.
But before he got to that Notre Dame, Humphries had spent
a formative year studying the “other” Notre Dame, in Paris. The
city that Earnest Hemingway called “a moveable feast” not only
shaped Humphries’ approach to architecture, but also it contin-
ues to be a source of inspiration.
In that transformative year abroad, Humphries continually
was exposed to both classical and modern masterpieces. While
exploring the architectural landscape of Paris and other Euro-
pean capitals, he kept running headlong into the striking jux-
taposition of old and new, a vocabulary he has banked in his
memory to draw on often.
“I’ve always advocated doing contemporary architecture
in very classical settings,” Humphries says, by way of ex-
ample. The American Woodmen Insurance Building, con-
structed in 1950, is a terrific illustration of this, standing as
it does in stark contrast to the National Historic District of
Victorian homes across the street.
In 1984, the two friends convened in Denver, where Poli had
been working as design director at Pouw & Associates. Hum-
phries joined Poli there, and 10 years later, they departed togeth-
er to found Humphries Poli Architects.
The building inwhichHumphries Poli is housed today is not
only an example of bringing together old and new, it is also an
apt metaphor for the firm’s work and ethic. ADenver landmark
that’s been thoughtfully and beautifully renovated, it also re-
flects several of the firm’s values – ennobling the site, inspiring
participants, sustaining resources and bringing joy to occupants.
“Ennobling the site suggests that the project will leave the
place in a better state than it was,” Humphries explains. “So,
you’re honoring and respecting the context and picking up on
the heart and soul of the community.”
The connection to community is one of the unspoken values
of HPA, which are visible throughout the cheerful, day-lit of-
fices. But while the walls of almost any modern workplace are
plasteredwith placards reminding employees of the company’s
“Vision, Mission and Values,” those at HPA are very much mir-
rored in the work of the firm.
The underlying commitment to community is evidenced by
the preponderance of public buildings, historic renovations (in-
cluding the restoration of the State Capitol Dome), schools and
libraries in the HPA portfolio. With more than 70 in his reper-
toire, Humphries has designed more libraries than any other
architect in Colorado.
/ Friends from the Midwest /
Photo courtesy David Agnello
Teton County Library, Jackson, Wyoming
