DOD Insider Tour | Auraria Campus: Constructing an Urban Campus

Join us for this in-person Doors Open Denver 2022 Insider Tour at the Auraria Campus. Two tour dates are available:

• Sunday, October 2, 11-12:30pm
• Saturday, October 15, 11-12:30pm

About the tour: Discover the three institutions that make up the unique and dynamic Auraria Campus through a guided tour of some of their newest and most innovative building projects. Visit the cutting-edge spaces in the MSU Aerospace & Engineering Sciences Building before heading to the new CU City Heights Residence Hall, located at the heart of the Auraria Campus. The tour will end at CCD’s Confluence Building, the welcoming “front door” for the college. Hear from architects and planners about designing for the shared campus and how each building reflects current needs as well as a vision for the future. Between stops, learn about the challenges of planning for a unified, urban campus with distinct academic opportunities.

About the campus: Located in the heart of downtown, the Auraria Campus is a dynamic academic environment shared by three distinct institutions: Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and University of Colorado Denver. The campus developed on the site of the historic Auraria neighborhood, which predates Denver’s establishment. Today, the unique urban campus serves roughly 38,000 students and is managed by the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC).

About the tour guides: Robin Becker, Senior Campus Planner for the State of Colorado, Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), works on a wide array of unique and complex projects, including collaborating with the surrounding neighborhood and local government agencies and guiding tri-institutional education development projects. Prior to AHEC, Robin was a Planner with the City of Golden and the Town of Estes Park and worked in the Housing and Environmental Engineering sectors overseas. She has a Master of Urban Planning with Honors from the University of Auckland.

Carl Meese, Director of Campus Planning, Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), has been a planner for the Auraria campus for over 10 years. He also leads Capital Project Planning, the Sustainable Campus Program, Design Review Boards and the Campus Planning Committee. Before working for AHEC, Carl received a Master of Arts Degree in Community and Regional Planning with an Urban Design concentration at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He is a certified planner, a member of the Society for College and University Planning and is a full member of the Urban Land Institute.

Jered Minter, AIA, Campus Architect, CU Denver, is a licensed architect with 24 years of experience in the design of educational facilities throughout Colorado. As Campus Architect for CU Denver, he was intimately involved in the design of the City Heights project.

Rick Petersen, FAIA, Principal, OZ Architecture, has engaged communities from Denver to Antarctica to create enriching environments that promote efficiency and well-being. He has worked on numerous projects in Denver, including the Butterfly Pavilion and Children’s Museum of Denver. Rick holds a Master of Architecture With Distinction from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design With High Honors from the University of California.

Cary Weatherford, Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Planning, CU Denver, has worked for CU for over 20 years. During his tenure he has been actively involved in all planning and design projects including the City Heights project.

Accessibility: This 90-minute walking tour will cover the Auraria Campus along paved walking paths. Opportunities for rest will be limited.