BUILT TO LAST

The new Helios building is designed to inspire generations of leaders to work toward education equity

Text by BEVERLY MEDLYN ❖ Photos by TINA CELLE, MELISSA MULERA and DENNY COLLINS

One of Paul Luna’s favorite spaces is the interior courtyard, which is designed to look like a canyon

The fountain that extends from the underground parking area to the oculus greets guests at every level of the building

TINA CELLE

Vince Roig, founding chairman of Helios Education Foundation, wants the new building as well as Helios, to inspire generations of leaders to commit themselves to improve education

he vision of Helios Education Foundation is unabashedly lofty: ensuring that every individual in Arizona and Florida has the opportunity and preparation to succeed in postsecondary education.

So it is only fitting that the Foundation’s new headquarters in midtown Phoenix was built to last in perpetuity.

“We want this facility to represent that education is not going to go away,” says Vince Roig, founding chairman of the Foundation. “The organization’s founders, the current leadership, our employees—we may all be gone. But what the building stands for and what Helios stands for will inspire generations of leaders to commit themselves to improve education.”

The keys?

Community. Equity. Investment. Partnership.

The oculus seen on the cover is at the pinnacle of a fountain that has its base in a pool in the underground parking garage. Visible from the garage as well as from the main level is The Gathering Towers by artists Rosemary Lonewolf and Joe Ray, one of the many pieces of artwork seen throughout the grounds and building

TINA CELLE

Katie Tennesen Hooten, executive director of Teach for America-Phoenix, says the “Helios campus is a collision space for people working collectively”

“All our fundamental beliefs are reflected in the campus,” says Paul Luna, president and CEO. “We view this as an investment in education. We want it to be a place for community work.”

A “COLLISION SPACE“

Construction began in 2017 on the building at 4747 North 32nd Street, Phoenix. A phased-in opening is currently underway.

The 65,000-square-foot building also serves as permanent headquarters for three nonprofits with a common purpose: Teach for America-Phoenix, College Success Arizona and Expect More Arizona.

“Proximity matters,” says Katie Tennessen Hooten, executive director of Teach for America-Phoenix. “When people are proximate to each other, they are more likely to work together. The Helios campus is a collision space for people working collectively for educational equity. The future of Arizona is dependent on the strength and health of our kids.”

Education-related meetings and activities are held at the Vince Roig Convening Center, named after the leader who first imagined such a place when the Foundation was created in 2004 with an initial endowment of $524 million.

INTENTIONAL, THOUGHTFUL DESIGN

John Kane, founding partner and design principal at Architekton, was selected to design the campus.

“As architects, we always are looking for projects that make a difference, and this project is that,” Kane says. “These organizations are doing amazing work and we’re proud to help design a project to advance their objectives.”

Architekton faced several challenges, including a sun-drenched, west-facing front along 32nd Street south of Camelback Road; fitting into longestablished neighborhoods; making the most of iconic mountain views; creating a structure that would last a century; maximizing efficient use of resources; and fulfilling Roig’s requirement for an underground parking garage that could be converted to office space in a future without cars.

The building extends in a wedge shape jutting north, and slopes down on the south and east to blend with adjacent residential areas. Windows are placed as focal points for mountain views and to protect against the summer’s harsh sun. Rather than erecting the typical monument to exhaust fumes, the underground garage is half exposed to dappled daylight, with an uplifting mural welcoming all who enter.

One of Luna’s favorite spaces is the interior courtyard, designed to look like a canyon. “It’s like what you might see hiking in northern Arizona, feeling one with nature,” he says. “When it rains, the water will cascade down the sides of the walls, much as it does in a canyon.” All water coming into the campus will be captured in a retention system and recycled on the grounds, he says.

Copper metal and creamy limestone, natural materials with special meaning to Arizona and Florida, are incorporated into the building. Works of art have been purchased from local artists, including a Native American design called The Gathering Towers—five poles reflecting Helios’ intention to gather people and ideas together.

EXPLORING EDUCATION OPTIONS

In 2018, Helios Education Foundation and Arizona State University formed a partnership to create the Decision Center for Education Excellence. Discussions take place in a round theater with seven screens, where data is processed by computer for various scenarios to project long-term outcomes. The goal is to find out what works and what doesn’t.

The Decision Theater that has been operating at ASU will be replicated at the Helios campus, bringing leaders together for analysis and discussion, Luna says.

Roig welcomes the data and the people. “The thing I have always been concerned about in Arizona and Florida is we tend to take positions on education, but we are not all working from the same set of facts,” he says. “The Decision Theater

TINA CELLE

The exterior of the Helios Education Foundation building as seen from 32nd Street in midtown Phoenix

process will allow us to agree on the set of facts. We may still have our own positions—left, right or who knows what. And that’s OK. But we need to work from the same set of facts.”

ROLE MODELS FOR STUDENTS

Roig and Luna are emblematic of the students Helios aims to serve.

Both are from Hispanic families who value education and view it as the key to success. Both are the first in their family to graduate from college.

Luna grew up in the small Arizona mining town of Miami, where his father was a miner. Luna’s athletic ability on the baseball field caught the eye of a Stanford University coach, who urged him to apply to the university. He was accepted, awarded a scholarship and graduated with an engineering degree.

Roig’s father was born in Spain. With a fifth-grade education, he became a merchant marine, traveling the world and learning eight languages. He married a Puerto Rican woman and the couple emigrated to New York City, where Roig was born. His father started out as a hospital cook and rose through the ranks to head dietician at Belleview Hospital, feeding 3,000 people a day.

“Watching his tenacity and his willingness to make things better made an impression,” Roig says.

Roig attained a master’s degree, then worked as a financial aid officer in New York and Arizona. From there he formed and led Southwest Student Services Corporation for 20 years, a student loan company with affiliates in Arizona and Florida. In 2004 the company was converted to the Foundation and named after Helios, the Greek mythological God of the Sun, for the two sunshine states.

Roig, a 73-year-old grandfather of eight, is proud to see his life’s work embodied in the campus. “At this point in life, my job is to inspire others to carry on,” he says. ❖