Grand Reopening of CU Boulder Hellems Arts & Sciences Building
On Friday, April 10th, we gathered together to celebrate the grand reopening of the Hellems Arts & Sciences Building at the University of Colorado Boulder — a renovation made possible through collaboration, creativity, and dedication.
The renewal of this historic 105-year old building unites heritage preservation, sustainability, and inclusivity, transforming a once-exclusive academic core into a welcoming, high-performing model of building modernization. Renovations reduced the building’s energy use intensity (EUI) by nearly 68%, even with the addition of air conditioning.
As the first building designed by Charles Klauder in CU Boulder’s iconic Tuscan Vernacular style, Hellems continues to play a central role on campus — home to English, History, Linguistics, and Philosophy, as well as ALTEC and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Today, it touches nearly every student experience, with half of all first-year students and 85% of undergraduates taking at least one class here.
In CU Boulder’s 150th Anniversary year, it was especially meaningful to celebrate this milestone alongside the incredible team who brought it to life.
Designed by Hacker + Handprint Architecture, learn more about the Hellems renovation here.
Photos by Yi Wang / Hacker
