Resources
At the College of Architecture and Planning, you’ll have access to a number of state of the art resources that will help introduce you to, and prepare you for, successfully using the same equipment that you’ll use in your chosen profession.
Visual Resource Center
The Visual Resource Center (VRC) is a student and faculty services center that provides access to a variety of photographic and audiovisual equipment, a portfolio photography studio room, and analog (35mm slides) and digital image collections.
VRC staff members are available to assist faculty members and students with images for teaching and classroom presentations, including the purchase of commercial images and videos, as well as assistance scanning images on site. Portfolio photography seminars and basic training on how to take quality digital images of student projects are offered by appointment. VRC staff members also provide professional input on digital imaging issues surrounding copyrights, file type choices, Adobe Photoshop image corrections, and long term digital file storage.
Click on the following campus links for information regarding our Denver and Boulder VRC office locations, as well as the policies, procedures, services offered, and specific staff contact information for each site:
The primary digital image databases for use in course presentations and research are Luna Insight, ARTstor, and a web site called “The Electronic Library of Colorado Architecture, Landscape and Planning” (click here to access these).
The college’s “Architecture and Planning” image collection uses Luna Imaging’s Insight software and contains over 40,000 images of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning sites which were acquired from scans of the VRC’s 35mm slide collections, purchases from commercial image vendors, as well as original photography from around the world taken by students and faculty and staff members. Additionally, in regard to the College’s strategic plan, a web site featuring Colorado architecture and natural and urban landscapes has been created with a subset of images taken from the “Architecture and Planning” Luna Insight image collection.
ARTstor is an image database that the University of Colorado campus libraries subscribe to on an annual basis and contains over 700,000 images of art, architecture, and related material culture of interest to a wide range of disciplines.
Learn more about Digital Image Databases >>
Computing Resources
Boulder
Beginning and advanced computer facilities, including graphic capabilities, are available to students in the Environmental Design Building. An urban simulation lab provides students with a facility for testing possible patterns of growth and development in the urban environment, and specialized digital simulation labs allow students to explore the cutting-edge world of digital design.
Denver
The College of Architecture and Planning boasts a newly revamped state of the art laboratory / learning environment. The facility includes: 28 Windows PCs and 4 G4 Macintoshes, small and large format scanners, large format plotters, laser printers, and computer data projection devices. All systems are 100base T Ethernet / Internet savvy and accessible 24 hours a day in a secure room.
The sound-proofed walls and specialty lighting in the lab create an environment that makes getting work done easy on the eyes and ears. Students and faculty convene in the lab/classroom for demonstrations and lectures.
Learn more about Computing Resources >>
Labs and Workshops
Boulder
Facilities for the college's programs in Boulder are provided in the Environmental Design building. The administrative and faculty offices, conference rooms, lecture rooms, and exhibit spaces are located on the first floor.
The college also offers its students access to specialized workshop and study facilities in the university's Center for Innovation and Creativity (CINC), which is located on the CU-Boulder East Campus. The facility is slightly over 14,000 square feet. It boasts an integrated computer lab with 24 dual processing high-end computers. The educational and research activities in CINC are further supported by a state-of-the-art Wood Lab, Metal Lab, Laser Cutting machines, a 3-D Printer, two Digitizers and two 3-Axis CNC routers.
Denver
Most of CAP’s space on the Denver campus is devoted to design studios (which enjoy stunning views of the Rocky Mountains). These studios are open 24/7. Almost all of the non-studio courses are taught on-site, in digitally equipped classrooms and seminar rooms. Our extensive workshop houses a full scale furniture-making shop, model-making tools, a spray booth and two laser cutters.
The building’s wireless network provides direct access to the internet, servers and printers from each desktop.
Learn more about Labs & Workshops >>
Library Resources
Boulder
The five branches of the Boulder campus library system include more than seven million books, periodicals, microforms, computer-based sources, and other research materials. Norlin Library's main branch houses an extensive art and architecture collection of special interest to architecture and planning students. For Instruction (to schedule classroom visits or talks) or for Research questions, contact Alison Hicks at Alison.Hicks@colorado.edu or 303-735-1709. See the Norlin Library website for more information.
Denver
The Auraria Library was established as a shared library for the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver and the University of Colorado Denver in July 1976. The Auraria Library supports the research and service requirements of all faculty and outreach mission of each of the three institutions. The 184,000 square foot building was designed by Helmut Jahn of CF Murphy, who won an award from the American Institute of Architects. The Arts and Architecture Bibliographer is Linda Tietjen, who can be reached at linda.d.tietjen@cudenver.edu or 303-556-4298. See the Auraria Library website for more information.