CU Boulder Breaks Ground on $57M Music Building Expansion

The University of Colorado Boulder broke ground this month on a $57-million expansion of the Imig Music building that will enhance the College of Music’s standing as a national leader as it kicks off a second century of excellence in teaching and research.

The 64,000-square-foot addition to the south end of the Imig building is slated to open in time for the fall 2020 semester, coinciding with the College of Music’s 100th anniversary.

Colorado Music Building

Features of the addition will include a state-of-the-art recording studio, dedicated suites for the Entrepreneurship Center for Music and Musicians’ Wellness Program, new classroom space, acoustically tuned practice rooms, and work and studio space for faculty and staff. Innovative rehearsal halls that convert to performance spaces, meanwhile, will help strengthen the college’s deep ties to the community as a beacon for the arts.

The addition will mark a major step toward consolidating College of Music programming into one facility, creating increased opportunities for collaboration across departments as the choral department relocates from Macky Auditorium into the new space. The addition also includes space for the Department of Theatre & Dance, providing a dance studio, changing rooms, and a theater classroom.

Featured

  • New City School

    Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Transforming New City School

    When New City School in St. Louis suffered catastrophic flood damage in July 2022, the event could have marked a serious setback for the 100-year-old institution. Instead, it became a forward-looking opportunity.

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.