UA opens Hillside Auditorium

Hillside Auditorium, the newest academic building on the University of Arkansas campus, was officially opened on Wednesday (March 27).

The $14.6 million building is more than 35,000 square feet and contains a 487-seat auditorium and a smaller 290-seat auditorium, and both have been used for large lecture classes since the start of the spring semester. Construction began in late 2011 and was funded with bonds that are supported by the student facility fee.

Hillside Auditorium replaces the Science Engineering Auditorium, which had a capacity of 372 seats, and the former Geology Building. Neither building met the university’s academic needs or its current energy efficiency standards.

“Hillside Auditorium epitomizes our efforts to expand, refurbish and modernize our campus to meet the needs of our growing student population and of our state,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “We have more than doubled our lecture hall capacity and replaced two buildings that were no longer functional with contemporary technology, teaching and learning. Beyond that we now have a building that was designed for sustainability – from its heating and air conditioning system to its LED lighting to, perhaps most impressively, its three tiers of living, green roofs.”

The building’s function, first and foremost, is as a much needed classroom.

As its name suggests, the multi-level structure is built into the contour of the hill that slopes down toward Dickson Street, just east of the Chi Omega Greek Theatre. It was designed so it would not obstruct the view of the campus and downtown Fayetteville from the theatre area.

The three-tiered roofs are landscaped with a variety of sedum, a flowering ground cover that is often used on green roofs, and medium sized plants and trees. A fourth-level patio serves as an outdoor extension of the pavilion space. The green roofs minimize storm water runoff, protect the building from ultraviolet rays, and reduce energy use by naturally insulating the building in the winter and deflecting heat in the summer.

Another dimension of the building is as a new showcase for public art. Four works by three internationally known artists are now on display inside Hillside Auditorium.