University of Colorado at Boulder

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";} A rolling Boulder   The University of Colorado at Boulder is overcoming serious challenges in terms of state funding, an aging building inventory, and maintenance backlog with an aggressive program of facilities management, Gary Toushek discovers.   The University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876, and as such itÔÇÖs the flagship of the stateÔÇÖs university system. Today some 30,000 students are enrolled in more than 150 academic programs at CU-BoulderÔÇÖs nine colleges and schools. Several Nobel laureates, MacArthur fellows and astronauts have been affiliated as students, researchers or faculty members.   Ever-increasing enrollment and the aging of many of its facilities mean that Paul Leef and his department are constantly busy maintaining, upgrading or constructing buildings on campus. Leef, with degrees in engineering and a MasterÔÇÖs in architecture, is the universityÔÇÖs official architect and its director of facilities management, planning and construction. ÔÇ£Architects are good at asking questions and are trained to see things holistically, so the design of a building requires many different components to come together, including the function,ÔÇØ Leef says. ÔÇ£The role of a campus architect is to see the larger system that weÔÇÖre operating in and to help solve the complex problems that are multidisciplinary in nature. For me itÔÇÖs a fantastic job.ÔÇØ   LeefÔÇÖs department has between 40 and 50 people, including part-timers and retirees, and it operates like a small firm, providing fee-based services and maintaining a campus space inventory of about 10 million square feet. A planning division handles campus master planning and capital projects planning, a design and construction group manages the projects, and an engineering group acts as code officials, reviewing drawings and assisting with inspections. The department has a list of about 400 projects, ranging from deferred maintenance and small renovations up to multimillion-dollar new buildings to be constructed. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre at about $500 million in design and construction projects, many of which are self-funded,ÔÇØ Leef says.   Although the recession has affected the universityÔÇÖs state funding (which, after the next round of cuts the university faces, could sink to about 4 percent of its total budget), most of the departmentÔÇÖs current work is being driven by areas that are fortunate to have their own revenue stream, ÔÇ£so the research enterprise is very successful.ÔÇØ ThereÔÇÖs funding from NASA, as well as the National Science Foundation (for environmental sciences) and other organizations. There are currently Nobel laureates in physics and in chemistry (the latter involved with biotechnology) performing research on campus. The university is aligned with several federal labs in the Boulder area, such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Renewal Energy Laboratory.   ÔÇ£Much of our research lines up with ColoradoÔÇÖs economy,ÔÇØ Leef says, ÔÇ£in terms of new and renewable energy and geosciences, as well as the burgeoning biotechnology sector, which is a tremendous area of growth for the state.ÔÇØ There are about 300 biotech companies in Colorado, and the university has spun off some 38 startups. In space sciences, more astronauts have studied at this university, which is the leading recipient of NASA grant funding in the country, than at any other institution; CU-Boulder is the only institution to have sent spacecraft to every planet in the solar system. And as well as leasing space to federal labs, a portion of the federal grant revenue the university receives goes to facilities and can be bonded against, which creates a mechanism for making investments. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve also been quite successful with some federal partnerships, receiving funding for some of our lands,ÔÇØ he adds.   The universityÔÇÖs original architectural concept was a collegiate Gothic style typical of the East Coast, followed by a variety of architectural styles. Then in 1919 the university architect at the time, inspired by travels in Italy, returned home and proposed using the locally available Colorado sandstone in an innovative style blend of Tuscan rural vernacular and Italian Renaissance designs. ÔÇ£So our design vocabulary primarily consists of rustic red sandstone, white limestone trim, and red tile roofs with black wrought iron accentsÔÇöa romantic Italianate style. ItÔÇÖs been followed with consistency on the main campus,ÔÇØ says Leef.  The largest current project is the $145 million Jennie Smoly Caruthers Systems Biotechnology Building, which combines three different programs under one roof, literally and conceptually. ÔÇ£Part of the funding is a generous [$20 million] grant from a faculty member,ÔÇØ says Leef. ÔÇ£The idea is that the challenges faced in biotechnology are complex enough that they require a multidisciplinary approach, so weÔÇÖre moving away from the departmental approach of housing a single discipline and co-locating three separate programs previously housed in different locations on campusÔÇöthe Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology, the division of biochemistry, and the department of chemical and biological engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. So weÔÇÖre mixing basic with applied science research and providing high-performance computing capability for modeling purposes, which in our experience has led to a lot of innovation and discovery. Dr. Tom Cech, a Nobel chemist is leaving the Howard Hughes Medical Institute after ten years to come and work in this building. WeÔÇÖre constructing three research wings and have also designed a fourth wing, and weÔÇÖre requesting funding help from the state in the future. We also have National Institutes of Health grants pending.ÔÇØ   The new Visual Arts Complex houses the department of art and art history, whose enrollment has increased by half in the last decade (previously it was located in a century-old building). Adjacent is the new art museum, which will permanently house the Colorado Collection and will exhibit traveling art shows, which require precise humidity control. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs on the main campus, so it had to be contextual with our material pallet, but the architects tried to reflect the academic programs housed inside,ÔÇØ says Leef. ÔÇ£So some aspects are inspired by the main campus but are different in the way the towers are articulated and where the entrances are located.ÔÇØ   The new Center for Community consolidates two 1950s cafeteria-like facilities into one residential dining experience, offering a variety of culinary cuisines in a setting thatÔÇÖs conducive to lively interaction. The goal is to create an environment where students will want to eat and chat in groups small and large, both indoors and out (in a courtyard). ItÔÇÖs another self-funded area because of a revenue stream from housing and dining via room and board fees. It also consolidates all student services under one roof. The building is adjacent to a major north-south bicycle path that serves the Boulder campus and the surrounding community. ÔÇ£Using some federal funds, weÔÇÖre creating an overpass in partnership with the city for a grade-separated crossing, so that students can walk directly over the street without conflicting with vehicular traffic. ItÔÇÖs also creating a major linkage for our community bikeways, so we see it as an active area that will be pedestrian- and bike-friendly,ÔÇØ Leef explains.  Student housing will be added on campus, which is in line with strategic goals to promote residential academic programs, where some residential living areas also become learning areas. ÔÇ£The idea is to attract faculty in a smaller seminar sort of setting, and focus part of our residential facilities on certain academic subjects, such as honors engineering and environmental studies,ÔÇØ Leef says. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs been successful already. ItÔÇÖs important to us to bring upper-division students back on campus; it has a very positive impact on student behavior because the older students model good study habits and maturity and provide more of a mix of experiences. So strategically we want more beds so we can house them as well.ÔÇØ ThatÔÇÖs led to a building program focusing on renovating some existing facilities, including now-empty spaces in student service offices previously scattered throughout the campus, for those residential academic programs.  The campus has five LEED Gold buildings so far, and LeefÔÇÖs department continues to design for LEED Gold and Platinum certification. The university has a strong affinity for sustainable design, Leef notes, and has been a leader in environmental sciences and studies. Leef himself is the first LEED accredited professional serving as campus architect, reflecting the institutionÔÇÖs commitment to these principles. In addition, CU-Boulder had the countryÔÇÖs first student-driven recycling program and the first student-funded environmental center. ThereÔÇÖs a robust energy and water conservation program, and even though theyÔÇÖve been adding square footage to the campus, energy consumption and operating costs are declining. Campus utilities will be driven by a new heating and cooling plant dramatically smaller in size and more efficient than those on comparable university campuses.  ÔÇ£What captures my imagination the most right now,ÔÇØ Leef summarizes, ÔÇ£is our current ten-year master planning effort, which focuses on sustainability as a core value, because it will provide a roadmap for our growth and development in a way that integrates with our larger community. Boulder is the first city in the country to pass a carbon tax, and the county is issuing bonds for energy-efficiency programs for residences and commercial businesses. So weÔÇÖre excited to partner with them on these sustainable planning issues. I think thatÔÇÖs one of the fundamental challenges not only for universities but for cities in generalÔÇöhow to remain vital and grow responsibly, without depleting resources, to safeguard them for future generations. To me thatÔÇÖs the challenge of the 21st century.ÔÇØ *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *