photo by: Kathy Hanks

Azra Krdzalic, a third-year architecture student at KU, carries a roll of sod south of Spooner Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. Krdzalic was working on a class project to renovate a courtyard next to Spooner.

While the University of Kansas campus was almost deserted Wednesday for winter break, two students were hard at work finishing a fall semester project.

Azra Krdzalic and Lake Giron, both third-year students in the School of Architecture, were with their professor, Keith Van de Riet, who teaches a design-build class focusing on renovation of Weaver Courtyard. The courtyard, named after former owners of Weaver’s Department Store, is just south of Spooner Hall, 1340 Jayhawk Blvd. Spooner Hall is also known as The Commons, an interdisciplinary building that combines the sciences, arts and humanities.

The students were raking the earth and laying sod. They planned to complete the form work for pouring new steps by Friday.

Azra Krdzalic and Lake Giron, both third-year students in KU’s School of Architecture, work Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, laying sod at the Weaver Courtyard south of Spooner Hall, also known as The Commons.

Since August, 18 students have been working with Van de Riet on a comprehensive design plan to bring the courtyard back to life. Surrounded by an iron fence, its garden had become overgrown and was not accessible to people who use wheelchairs. A hole was cut in the fence, and a portion of the wall was removed to install an ADA-compliant entryway and to make the courtyard visible from Jayhawk Boulevard.

While the research for the project began in the spring semester as Van de Riet’s students brainstormed ideas for the under-used space, the actual hands-on work began this fall.

“We made a lot of noise and commotion,” Van de Riet said, as they began tearing things up to build the new entryway to the courtyard. Trees were trimmed back to afford a view. Old plants were pulled out and replaced with prairie plants.

A water element was added, which will be fed from a collection of rainwater from Spooner Hall’s roof. The water will flow down through a channel made from recycled glass into a rain garden.

The garden connects humans and nature, Van de Riet said. Several sculptures adorn the space, including a biodiversity rock that symbolizes a thumbprint and depicts how humans can potentially tip the balance of life on earth. Students worked with local mason and artist Karl Ramberg of Ramberg Stoneworks to create the stone carving.

photo by: Kathy Hanks

Keith Van de Riet, left, assistant professor of architecture at KU, and Azra Krdzalic and Lake Giron, right, both third-year architect students, worked on campus Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, to finish the renovation project on Weaver Courtyard, south of Spooner Hall.

“We stepped outside our box,” said Giron, who had never done anything like this before.

Emily Ryan, director of The Commons, said in a news release from KU that she was excited about the work and the opportunities it created.

“This project is an example of what can come from genuine investment in working across disciplines, which is what The Commons aims to foster. The work is richer and better-informed for the multiple perspectives and approaches that Keith and his students have involved from the beginning, and as a result, we’ll all benefit from a fully conceived space,” Ryan said.

Krdzalic and Giron anticipated making progress in the next few days, though Van de Riet said they were still waiting for some steel edging to arrive so they could finish the project — hopefully sometime in January.

The two students kept working despite the chill in the air.

“We worked through snow,” Giron said. “You just layer; it’s not bad.”