The Visual Arts Complex, home to the art and art history departments, opened for classes Monday. Although the semester has begun, parts of the building are still undergoing finishing touches. (CU Independent/Lauren Walter)
The original version of the photo caption for this story incorrectly stated that the Visual Arts Complex opened in 2009. The building actually opened Jan. 11, 2010. 1/13/10; 10:31
The new Visual Arts Complex is now open to students.
The new building includes a 200-seat auditorium and spaces for community workshops and discussions, according to a Visual Arts Complex PDF. The building also houses improved technology, including Shared Multimedia Access to Resources for Teaching classrooms.
The building is 170,000 square feet and will include the CU Art Museum, according to the CU Facilities Management Web site.
The total building expense was $63.5 million, according to the facilities management Web site. About $30 million of that total came out of student fees and the rest of the funding came from state funds and donations, according to a media fact sheet.
Caitlin Savage, a 21-year-old junior studio arts and art history major, said she was impressed by the technology in the Visual Arts Complex but not by the bland interior.
“The technology is nice; classroom 1B20 has an awesome projector and screen,” Savage said. “The facilities and technology all look good, but every floor looks the same and there are construction supplies everywhere. It looks like a rat maze.”
Scott Chamberlin, a ceramics professor at CU, also raved about the new technology.
“The smart classrooms are amazing,” Chamberlin said. “I can do anything!”
Keith Jacobsen, a 19-year-old sophomore environmental design major, agreed that the complex was much more modern than other CU buildings.
“I had an architecture class in one of the lecture halls,” Jacobsen said. “The walls are all painted black and there is a gigantic screen.”
The CU Art Museum with the complex will be closed until April 2 for construction. Through April and May the CU Art Museum will feature student thesis exhibitions in the project gallery. The museum will fully open in the fall of 2010, according to the CU Art Museum Web site.
The Visual Arts Building replaced the Sibell Wolle Fine Arts building, which was about 90 years old, according to a CU News Center news release.
Chamberlin said there is hardly a comparison between the new complex and Sibell Wolle.
“Sibell was one of the early, original engineering buildings,” Chamberlin said. “It was old and small, with a poor infrastructure. Everything about the new building is completely positive.”
Savage, who took art classes in Fleming Law before the complex was completed, also agreed that the building is an overall success.
“Overall, it’s an improvement,” Savage said. “I’m withholding my disappointment about the inside until they put in carpet and put up some student art on the walls. I’m glad to be here.”
During the completion of the new complex, Chamberlin said his ceramics class was moved off campus, which affected everything from enrollment to students making it to class on time.
“My students can actually get to class,” Chamberlin said. “We can walk to the library.”
Marin Toscano, a 19-year-old sophomore international affairs major, said she remembered her off-campus ceramics class as a disappointment.
“I was really excited for the class but then I ended up having to drop it because it was making me late to my other classes,” Toscano said. “Now I feel like I could learn about ceramics if I wanted to without having to compromise my other classes.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lindsay Mullineaux at Lindsay.mullineaux@colorado.edu.
