Boston-based Kennedy Violich Architecture (KVA) has successfully transformed a distinctive 1960s ice skating pavilion into a vibrant arts education facility at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Colorado College Honnen Arts Hub, completed in 2024, represents the latest chapter in the evolution of the historic 1961 Lusk and Wallace skating pavilion, which originally featured seven striking 180-foot-long thin-shell barrel vaults made entirely of cast concrete.
The original open-air pavilion underwent its first major transformation in the 1980s when it was enclosed to create a hockey arena. Now, KVA has reimagined the 30,000-square-foot structure as a comprehensive arts facility housing multiple art studios, workshop spaces, classrooms, and galleries for the college's fine arts department.
"When we first visited Honnen, it was cavernous, dingy and dim," explained Juan Frano Violich, principal of Kennedy Violich Architecture. "The barrel vault roof somehow rose above it all. It was so familiar and seemed strangely connected in conversation with other vaulted structures, the great Mosque of Cordoba and Louis Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum."
The architectural team's exterior renovations focused on opening up the previously enclosed structure while respecting its original character. They removed the enclosing walls that had been added in the 1980s, exposing the undersides of the distinctive vaults with sleek, thin-profile glazing. A warm terracotta color, derived from the red sandstone of the surrounding alpine desert landscape, was applied to the new recessed entry, creating a welcoming connection to the local environment.
Inside the facility, KVA organized the space into functional bays determined by the 30-foot lateral span of the vaults. The rectangular floor plan strategically separates different functions: the north end houses back-of-house workshops equipped with enhanced ventilation systems, make-up air systems, additional power infrastructure, and acoustic mediation. The southern portion contains more public-facing spaces, including studios, classrooms, and exhibition areas.
The design celebrates the building's architectural heritage through thoughtful color choices and material treatments. Orange-painted walls emphasize the dramatic vaults and continue onto the ceiling of the wide-open central space, creating visual continuity throughout the facility. This orange detailing extends to subtle exterior elements and even appears in details like curtains in the machine shops. In contrast, the art studios maintain a more utilitarian aesthetic with exposed mechanical systems and relatively unadorned walls.
The renovation prioritizes sustainability and environmental efficiency in alignment with Colorado College's achievement of carbon neutrality in 2020. The architects implemented a displaced air system that eliminates the need for refrigerated cooling, taking advantage of the high desert climate. The barrel vaults serve a dual purpose, functioning as ducted plenums that contribute to the building's air conditioning-free ventilation system while providing spectacular views of the Colorado Rockies.
"The vaults are a large part of why the building is so adaptable, welcoming, and resilient," the studio noted. The design team emphasized that the project required them to "tread lightly and be generous" due to the diverse programmatic needs of various activities, including different requirements for volume, air-flow, and occupancy patterns.
The architects describe the transformed facility as representing "a cross section of a city, where there are places of learning, work, public gathering, and even industry, all under one column-free vaulted roof." This unique juxtaposition of programs with seemingly conflicting needs creates what the studio calls "a unique tension bringing energy to the space and its activities."
The Honnen Arts Hub joins a growing number of recent projects that employ vaulted roof systems to provide both structural support and spatial organization. Similar approaches can be seen in contemporary works including an Argentinian house by Fabrizio Puglisese, an Ecuadorian hotel extension by Ignacio Muñoz Bustamante and Javier Mera Luna, and a Mexican community center by Aidia Studio. The project, photographed by Frank Ooms, demonstrates how thoughtful adaptive reuse can honor architectural heritage while meeting contemporary educational needs.
