Pop quiz: In which building on the CU Boulder campus can you find a triceratops skull? Hint: It鈥檚 in one of the most highly-trafficked areas of campus yet might be one of the better-kept secrets. And it celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.
Henderson Museum, directly west of the University Memorial Center, is the place. Opened in the fall of 1937, the building houses the CU Museum of Natural History. To commemorate the building鈥檚 80th anniversary, museum staff are kicking off a year of events and lectures related to the museum鈥檚 history, starting with , an evening exploring the architectural elements that make CU Boulder鈥檚 campus famous.
Who: Open to the public
What: Architecture Through the Decades
When: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Museum of Natural History, Paleontology Hall
Taking place Jan. 25听at the CU Museum of Natural History, the free event will include a screening of Body and Soul, a film about the architectural style developed for the campus by renowned architect Charles Klauder, who was commissioned by CU leaders in 1917 to create a campus master plan. Campus Architect Emeritus Bill Deno and current Campus Architect Bill Haverly both will be on hand to discuss Klauder鈥檚 vision and how the campus style has evolved over time.
Klauder鈥檚 鈥淯niversity of Colorado style,鈥� known for the use of the local sandstone and red-tile roofs, has survived on CU鈥檚 main campus well beyond the 15 buildings he designed.
In advance of the Architecture Through the Decades听event, CU Boulder Today caught up with Haverly to chat about Klauder鈥檚 style and what it means to the campus and CU鈥檚 reputation. In March, Haverly will celebrate his third anniversary as campus architect. Some of the major projects he鈥檚 been involved with include the new athletics facility, the Ketchum Hall renovation, the new dining and community center at Williams Village and the Center for Academic Success and Engagement, which is currently under construction near the University Memorial Center (UMC). Haverly was also elected recently to serve as president of the Association of University Architects.
CU Boulder Today: Why is it important, in your eyes, to preserve the architectural style at CU Boulder?
Haverly: I think it鈥檚 hugely important for our branding鈥攚hether people know CU because it鈥檚 famous for its style or it鈥檚 the first time they鈥檝e come here and they鈥檙e impressed by it. It鈥檚 the recognition of a campus that鈥檚 equally renowned for its aesthetic beauty and academic prowess. Lastly, to me as an architect, the style we鈥檙e known for, which some people call Tuscan Vernacular and some people call the Colorado style, was developed by a significant architect known for doing campus buildings around the nation, particularly on the East Coast, in the English Collegiate Gothic style. But when he came to CU, he developed a style for our campus that took advantage of locally-sourced materials and hasn鈥檛 been replicated really anywhere else.
Campus Architect Bill Haverly
CU Boulder Today: What challenges does adhering to the style present when designing new buildings?
Haverly: In my opinion, it鈥檚 not a challenge because our palette of materials is really well defined. So architects know coming in they鈥檙e going to work with the local sandstone and the colors in that palette. They know they鈥檙e going to have the sloped, red-clay roofs and that the accents are going to be either limestone or precast concrete with black metal works. Beyond that, we鈥檙e not super restrictive. In using those materials, architects are able to design buildings they want (without damaging the fabric of campus). It鈥檚 a simplifier. The goal is to create a timeless architecture so people don鈥檛 look and say, 鈥淥h, this was built in 2012; this was built in 1992.鈥� I think even in the 鈥�60s and 鈥�70s, when many campuses really got away from traditional-style buildings, CU remained faithful to our palette of materials.
CU Boulder Today: What are some little-known aspects of the architectural style or cool features people might not know about but would be worth seeking out the next time they鈥檙e walking through campus?
Haverly: I hear a lot of people say, 鈥淎ll the buildings are exactly the same.鈥� But if you really pay attention, the buildings are quite different. Even the buildings designed by Klauder are not the same. They use the same palette of materials, but if you look at the details around windows and doors and so forth, they鈥檙e not the same.
One thing I think Klauder started, and I would like people to notice more, is how important the spaces are between the buildings. Some of the most wonderful spaces on campus are actually not buildings; they鈥檙e the spaces between and around the buildings. I think people would be well-served to notice when they walk around how special some of those places are.
Lastly, Klauder鈥檚 buildings on campus had two styles of design on campus. Student spaces were lower on the ends and built up to the middle, while the academic spaces were lower in the middle and kind of bookended by towers. What I think is important about that is if you look at Norlin Library, it was built up toward the center. So it was thought of by Klauder as a student building, not an academic building. Even to this day, that鈥檚 a pretty unique perspective on libraries.
