photo by: Mike Yoder
Jim Modig, who retired as the University of Kansas architect in early January, gave a tour of campus on Jan. 22, 2021, outlining some of his favorite campus projects and buildings.
The University of Kansas’ Learned Hall and the Earth, Energy and Environment Center are connected by a glass walkway over Naismith Drive. It’s a detail passersby likely notice, but one whose significance might not always be understood.
Jim Modig, KU’s previous university architect, explained that it’s a path of accessibility to help people move vertically on a hilly part of the campus. A person in a wheelchair, for instance, could enter Learned Hall at the ground level, take an elevator to the fourth floor, cross the bridge to the Earth, Energy and Environment Center and exit that building on the same level as Jayhawk Boulevard.