Published: Jan. 20, 2017

Pop quiz: In which building on the CU Boulder campus can you find a triceratops skull? Hint: It’s 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’s 80th anniversary, museum staff are kicking off a year of events and lectures related to the museum’s history, starting with Architecture Through the Decades, an evening exploring the architectural elements that make CU Boulder’s campus famous.

If you go

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 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’s vision and how the campus style has evolved over time.

Klauder’s “University of Colorado style,” known for the use of the local sandstone and red-tile roofs, has survived on CU’s main campus well beyond the 15 buildings he designed.

In advance of the Architecture Through the Decades event, CU Boulder Today caught up with Haverly to chat about Klauder’s style and what it means to the campus and CU’s reputation. In March, Haverly will celebrate his third anniversary as campus architect. Some of the major projects he’s 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’s hugely important for our branding—whether people know CU because it’s famous for its style or it’s the first time they’ve come here and they’re impressed by it. It’s the recognition of a campus that’s equally renowned for its aesthetic beauty and academic prowess. Lastly, to me as an architect, the style we’re 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’t been replicated really anywhere else.

Campus Architect Bill Haverly

Campus Architect Bill Haverly

CU Boulder Today: What challenges does adhering to the style present when designing new buildings?

Haverly: In my opinion, it’s not a challenge because our palette of materials is really well defined. So architects know coming in they’re going to work with the local sandstone and the colors in that palette. They know they’re 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’re not super restrictive. In using those materials, architects are able to design buildings they want (without damaging the fabric of campus). It’s a simplifier. The goal is to create a timeless architecture so people don’t look and say, “Oh, this was built in 2012; this was built in 1992.” I think even in the ‘60s and ‘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’re walking through campus?

Haverly: I hear a lot of people say, “All the buildings are exactly the same.” 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’re 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’re 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’s 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’s a pretty unique perspective on libraries.