Auraria Campus Design Guidelines Page C-1 1 Auraria Campus Design Guidelines 2 3 AURARIA HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER 4 COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF DENVER 5 METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE OF DENVER 6 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER_Downtown Campus 7 8 900 AURARIA PARKWAY, DENVER, CO 80204-1894 9 CAMPUS BOX A, PO BOX 173361, DENVER CO 80217-3361 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 PreparedBy:GeorgeHooverArchitect:110SixteenthStreet:Suite602:DenverColorado80202 Auraria Campus Design Guidelines_May 2009 Page TOC-1 Table of Contents 1 Table of Contents 2 3 4 1.0 Introduction 5 6 2.0 Executive Summary 7 8 3.0 Principles 9 10 4.0 Character 11 12 5.0 Sustainability 13 14 6.0 Public Urban Space 15 16 7.0 Neighborhoods 17 18 8.0 Edges 19 20 9.0 Buildings 21 22 10.0 Site Furnishings 23 24 11.0 Security/Campus Safety 25 26 12.0 Design Review Process 27 28 A.0 APPENDIX 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 PreparedBy:GeorgeHooverArchitect:110SixteenthStreet:Suite602:DenverColorado80202 Auraria Campus Design Guidelines_May 2009 Page 1-1 Section 1: Introduction 1 Section 1: Introduction 2 3 Contents 4 5 Discussion: 6 1.0 The Origin of the Auraria Campus 7 1.1 Auraria’s overall vision and its vision for the physical plan 8 1.2 Auraria Campus Master Plan Update 2007 9 1.3 Public/Private Partnership and AHEC Master Plan Update 2007 10 1.4 Downtown Area Plan 11 1.5 Purpose of the Auraria Campus Design Guidelines 12 1.6 Organization of the Auraria Campus Design Guidelines 13 14 15 1.0 The Origin of the Auraria Campus 16 The Auraria Campus is unique in many ways. The majority of the campus buildings and 17 infrastructure was completed at one time in the early to mid 1970’s. The campus was built 18 to house three institutions: The University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College 19 of Denver, and the Community College of Denver. The campus is located on 151.5 acres 20 just west of Downtown Denver. 21 22 The original main campus was built between 1973 and 1976 on the site of the historic town 23 of Auraria. Although many of the buildings were demolished under an urban renewal 24 project, a number of those of a historical nature were preserved. These remain on the 25 campus today and house various campus functions. Examples of these are the 9th Street 26 Park houses, the Mercantile, Tivoli, Saint Cajetan’s Church, and the Emmanuel Gallery. 27 Saint Elizabeth’s Church remains on the campus and is still the home for a Roman 28 Catholic parish. Several buildings not considered significant historically also became parts 29 of the campus and housed campus support functions. Designed in compliance with a set of 30 specific architectural standards, the original campus buildings were planned on a 30 x 30 31 foot grid that was superimposed over the entire site so as to provide an organizing 32 framework for campus building. Many of the existing city streets were left in place and have 33 been used for pedestrian walkways and service vehicle routes. 34 35 1.1 Auraria’s overall vision1 and its vision for the physical plan2 36 Auraria’s overall vision emerges out of the campus’s location at the core of the City of 37 Denver and in the heart of the Metropolitan area. Not only is the campus located centrally, 38 it also is only a ten-minute walk from Denver’s financial district, its theater and convention 39 district, and many of its most vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods. Auraria’s vision is to 40 become an integral part of and resource to this richly diverse community and to be an 41 educator for thousands of residents of the metropolitan area; a source for new 42 employment; and a center for learning and cultural activities for local, regional, and national 43 audiences. 44 45 Auraria’s vision for its physical plan is to develop a thoughtful relationship between the 46 campus and its surrounding neighborhoods; to introduce new activities to the campus that 47 are typical of central urban campus communities — residential living, office working, 48 commercial trading, and retail selling — that, on the one hand, provide continuity within the 49 urban framework of Downtown Denver and, on the other hand, acknowledge the existing 50 boundaries of the campus; to deploy within the campus an urban perspective for the 51 development of buildings and open spaces; to create identifiable neighborhoods for the 52 Community College of Denver, Metro State, and UC Denver; and to create an 1 AHEC Master Plan Update 2007 2 AHEC Master Plan Update 2007; Downtown Area Plan 2007 PreparedBy:GeorgeHooverArchitect:110SixteenthStreet:Suite602:DenverColorado80202 Auraria Campus Design Guidelines_May 2009 Page 1-2 Section 1: Introduction 1 administrative structure to provide the capital investment necessary for the campus to meet 2 new demand for education at each of the three institutions. 3 4 1.2 Auraria Campus Master Plan Update 20073 5 The Master Plan for the Auraria Campus was updated in 2007. An extensive master 6 planning effort was conducted in 2006-07 to address the changing nature of the commuter 7 campus. Various activities caused the campus to take a closer look at its physical plan. 8 Some of these factors were: 9 1. Private student housing projects outside the campus border; 10 2. An increasing student population with a shift to younger, more traditional college 11 students; 12 3. An update to the Downtown Area Plan with a focus of making the campus a part of 13 downtown; 14 4. FasTracks transit improvements were approved by voters in 2004 which would 15 mean an increase of transit to the Auraria Campus; 16 5. A lack of state funding for the institutions on the Auraria Campus and for capital 17 construction projects which impacts the academic environment. 18 19 The master planning effort resulted in a master plan that created a more urban 20 environment with neighborhoods for each of the institutions. The plan establishes five 21 principles to guide campus growth during 2007 - 2027: 22 1) To expand and intensify the campus to meet current and future space needs of the 23 Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the 24 University of Colorado Denver downtown campus in a way that is consistent with the 25 physical quality and character of the Auraria campus. 26 2) To enhance the identity of the individual institutions without undermining the shared 27 identity of the Auraria Campus. 28 3) To support the educational objectives of the three institutions by creating new 29 opportunities for learning in buildings and outdoors. 30 4) To create strong physical and programmatic connections from the campus to Denver’s 31 core, transit systems, and regional park and parkways system. 32 5) To develop a plan that represents sustainable planning and design. [Here reference 33 was made to Denver’s Greenprint Denver Plan of July 2006. This plan articulates the 34 missions and principles for sustainable growth and provides concrete direction for the 35 governmental sector and clear guidance for the private sector.] 36 37 1.3 Public/Private Partnership and AHEC Master Plan Update 20074 38 The Auraria Higher Education Center engaged in this Master Plan Update to address each 39 institution’s growth aspirations in the context of a vibrant urban campus that is a part of a 40 growing downtown Denver. Integral to the master planning has been an analysis of how 41 higher education institutions might benefit from public/private partnerships. Thus AHEC 42 has sought to analyze how it might use its resources: 43 • to collaborate with the private sector to bring vibrancy to the campus; 44 • to support the academic mission; and 45 • to create additional financial resources for the three institutions. 46 47 1.4 Influence of the 2007 Downtown Area Plan 48 The 2007 Downtown Area Plan was a joint effort by the City and County of Denver and the 49 Downtown Denver Partnership that sought to provide an updated framework for downtown 50 following the 1986 plan. The plan reflects the community’s vision for a livable, healthy, 51 economically vibrant and exciting downtown. This planning effort was underway at the 52 same time as the update to the Auraria Campus Master Plan. These planning efforts 3 AHEC Master Plan Update 2007 4 AHEC Master Plan Update 2007 PreparedBy:GeorgeHooverArchitect:110SixteenthStreet:Suite602:DenverColorado80202 Auraria Campus Design Guidelines_May 2009 Page 1-3 Section 1: Introduction 1 influenced each other to encourage a campus plan that was denser and provided better 2 connectivity to downtown. Three of the seven transformative projects discussed in the 3 Downtown Area Plan directly impact the campus. The projects are identified as: 4 • embrace adjacent neighborhoods through pedestrian, bike and transit connections; 5 • connecting Auraria through expanded physical and programmatic connections; and 6 • grand boulevards which seek to transform Speer, Colfax, Broadway, Park Avenue 7 and Auraria Parkway into memorable, multimodal boulevards. 8 9 These design guidelines seek to implement the ideas found in both of these planning 10 efforts to make the campus a more integral part of the downtown community. 11 12 1.5 Purpose of the Auraria Campus Design Guidelines 13 These design guidelines apply to the entire Auraria Campus.