/asmagazine/ en /asmagazine/2022/09/02/campus-leaders-want-your-ideas-about-how-improve-hellems <span>Campus leaders want your ideas about how to improve Hellems</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-09-02T12:31:37-06:00" title="Friday, September 2, 2022 - 12:31">Fri, 09/02/2022 - 12:31</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/hellems_entry.png?h=08b2725e&amp;itok=LtFFCs2I" width="1200" height="800" alt="Hellems"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/30"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/320" hreflang="en">English</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1110" hreflang="en">Facilities</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/178" hreflang="en">History</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/578" hreflang="en">Philosophy</a> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/clint-talbott">Clint Talbott</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>The project team aims to make this iconic academic building an inclusive space, focused on student success and vibrant workspace</em></p><hr><p>şÚÁĎłÔąĎ half of first-year students take a course in the Hellems Arts and Sciences building, and by the time they graduate, about 85% of all undergraduates take at least one course there. On this campus, Hellems takes a leading role in&nbsp;academics, but lately it might seem&nbsp;withered in the&nbsp;spotlight.</p><p>That’s because the building was constructed in 1921, when the U.S. president was Warren G. Harding and baseball’s superstar was a 28-year-old Babe Ruth. Since then, a great deal is new, but the building itself remains largely vintage.</p><p>As the University of Colorado gears up for a major renovation of Hellems, officials are asking students, faculty and staff to share their ideas, photos and suggestions about how to make the new-and-improved Hellems an inclusive and welcoming space—a space focused on an invigorating student experience and a refreshed work and research environment for the arts and humanities.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/old-photo-of-hellems.jpg?itok=ag3nSa_H" width="750" height="422" alt="Old Photo of Hellems"> </div> <p><strong>At the top of the page</strong>: Hellems Arts and Sciences is seen with the Flatirons beyond.&nbsp;<strong>Above</strong>:&nbsp;Hellems Arts and Sciences, shown here&nbsp;in the 1930s, was the first building on campus built using the trademark Tuscan Vernacular style (<a href="https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/search?type=dismax&amp;f%5B0%5D=bpl_mods_relatedItem_not_otherType_titleInfo_title_ms%3AA.A.%5C%20Paddock%5C%20Collection%5C%20%5C%3A%5C%20University%5C%20of%5C%20Colorado%2C%5C%20Boulder" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">A.A. Paddock Collection : University of Colorado, Boulder</a>).</p></div></div> </div><p>The 95,000-square-foot facility needs a general restoration, accessibility improvements and energy-efficiency upgrades that will help the building attain a LEED Gold rating. But planners have been seeking ideas on how to improve Hellems even more.</p><p>A survey of students’ views of Hellems found that students like and want to preserve the building’s historical character, the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre and the ALTEC language facilities.</p><p>On the other hand, students listed things that need to be improved: study space, restrooms, light, furniture, classroom space, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and graduate-student space.</p><p>The project team also surveyed students about which campus buildings they preferred. Overwhelmingly, students preferred the Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE) building, which is modern, enjoys abundant natural light, is accessible and centered on students’ needs.</p><p>As they strive to make the Hellems redesign both inclusive and student-centered, the project team has met with several groups and, together, have brainstormed ways to maximize inclusive design. Those discussions have centered on things such as installing all-user restrooms while also honoring religious requirements, acknowledging the historic owners of the land on which the campus sits, and encouraging partnerships with Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.</p><p>The project team has other challenges, too. Hellems is part of the campus’ Norlin Quadrangle Historic District and was the first building designed by architect Charles Klauder in the now-iconic University of Colorado Tuscan Vernacular style.</p><p>Just as the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is a focal point of the U.S. capital, the Norlin Quad is a focal point of şÚÁĎłÔąĎ. From north to south, Macky Auditorium and Hellems serve as bookends. To the east, Norlin Library, with its historic façade, frames the third side of the quad.</p><p>But, as planners note, all the energy emanating from that quadrangle terminates in the front of a building, Hellems, whose front door is inaccessible. Further, the front entrance leads students into a dimly lit stairwell and a hallway of doors, many closed.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><p> </p><blockquote> <p><i class="fa-solid fa-quote-left ucb-icon-color-gold fa-3x fa-pull-left">&nbsp;</i> </p><p><strong>Hellems is a workhorse building, serving a large percentage of the şÚÁĎłÔąĎ community. We want to honor this by making sure that same community has a strong voice in its redesign: diversity, equity and inclusion embodied in brick and mortar.</strong></p><p> </p></blockquote> </div> </div><p>Making the entrance accessible is a solvable problem, they say. How to make the Hellems entryway something like a grand entrance is a bigger issue, they add.</p><p>One idea is to “reclaim the dean’s office,” which one faces upon ente