Insider Tour: Auraria Campus Master Plan

Doors Open Denver Early Bird ticket sales begin on July 21st at 4pm for DAF Members and end on August 4 at 4pm, when DAF Member pricing will increase. DAF Membership will be verified upon ticket purchase. Click here to become a DAF member. Tickets will be available for non-DAF members beginning August 18.

About the Tour: Join us for a guided tour of the Auraria Campus, home to three higher education institutions in the heart of downtown Denver. Led by professionals at Sasaki, the principal authors of the recent Campus Framework Plan, this tour explores how thoughtful urban planning creates harmony between academic architecture and Denver’s natural environment. Discover how sustainable design principles, a higher density campus, integrated green spaces, and strategic connections to Denver’s urban fabric are transforming this unique campus into a model for balanced, environmentally responsive design in the 21st century.

This walking tour explores how the Auraria Campus Framework Plan reimagines the relationship between built and natural environments in an urban educational setting. Participants will experience firsthand how integrated architectural and landscape design creates a sustainable, welcoming campus that honors its natural and historical context.

About the Auraria Campus: Located in Denver’s oldest neighborhood, Auraria Campus is a dynamic and vibrant higher education community in the heart of downtown. The 150-acre campus is shared by three separate and distinct higher education institutions: Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and University of Colorado Denver. Auraria is bordered by the South Platte River, Colfax Avenue, and Speer Boulevard to form a rough triangle. The neighborhood’s proximity to the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek made it an oasis amid Colorado’s dry plains, and Indigenous people used the place as a trading post for many years. In 1858, the town of Auraria was founded by miners who discovered gold in the area, and it continued to grow and flourish until being combined with nearby Denver in 1860.

The Auraria Campus Master Plan is the long-term vision for the physical environment of the campus and establishes overall goals, objectives, and design principles that serve as a framework for future growth. It proposes a new collaborative approach to project planning that seeks to maximize critical resources and provides institutional leadership with a valuable tool to make decisions regarding the improvement of campus space.

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.

Joshua Brooks is a landscape architect and planner and serves as the Co-Director of Sasaki’s office in Denver. He has a deep passion for creating successful human habitat for all people through a variety of urban design, planning, and landscape project types. His interest lies at the intersection of people and infrastructure, where he focuses on the planning, design, and implementation of urban places of lasting social significance and ecological integrity. A systems thinker, Joshua has used his multi-disciplinary background and worked across scales and contexts in North America, Australia, Europe, and Africa.

Accessibility: This tour will require walking through buildings and across sidewalks to explore the Auraria Campus. Auraria Campus aims to ensure that all people have equal access to campus building and grounds. There will be limited opportunity for seating on the tour. Learn more about campus accessibility here.

Refund policy: The Denver Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization. Ticket sales support the Foundation in continuing to provide quality events to the public. We are unable to provide refunds or credits for any reason less than 14 days prior to the event.

Please note that DAF tours take place rain, snow or shine. If your tour includes an outdoor portion, please dress for the weather. DAF staff will contact all attendees directly should a tour be cancelled for any reason.