Landscape Architect Articles

Pikes Peak - America's Mountain07-21-23 | Feature

Pikes Peak - America's Mountain

Pikes Peak Has Been Recognized as a Significant Landmark Across Generations
by DHM Design

Pikes Peak is a familiar landmark as a tourist destination but harsh conditions had deteriorated the visitors' facilities. A team of design professionals that included landscape architectural firm DHM Design was tasked with a refurbishment of the entire summit complex. Besides making it well-functioning, sustainability was a key. The new visitor's complex was designed and built to meet the rigorous performance standard of the Living Building Challenge, which promotes construction that is harmonious with the surrounding ecosystems. This project is the first of its kind to meet that standard at this elevation (over 14,000 feet above sea level) and represented one of the most complicated design endeavors ever attempted at such an altitude.

The summit house and surrounding terraces anchor the site. Set into the hillside, the summit house was designed to merge into the surrounding landscape and give the building a low profile to allow visitors clearer observations of the surrounding views. The custom guardrails were subbed out to Peak Custom Fabrication. The guardrails' framework - posts, top/bottom rail - are weathered steel with a carbon steel, welded wire mesh. The handrails are stainless steel.

Some areas of disturbed boulder fields were restored. The fields were separated into three categories: exposed boulder arrangements with soil and gravel covering bare areas, small pocket boulder arrangements with no bare areas but soil between the boulders to create micro habitats for plants, and large pocket boulder arrangements with soil and gravel in bare areas and tucked between boulders. For much of the boardwalk, micropiles were used as a foundation. Micropiles are smaller than traditional pipe piles, work well for areas sensitive to noise or vibration and can be installed with more compact machines, which was important when considering the issues of transporting the equipment to the job site and back down.

Elevated interpretive pedestrian boardwalks connect each space while preserving the fragile alpine tundra and creating accessible and safe opportunities for viewing.

With the help of a sign designer, the team developed diagrams of key views from the peak to inform the interpretive signage program since it and the site design had to complement each other. Research and site studies were incorporated into the content of the signs that include viewsheds, historic sites and events, key focal points and the significance of environmental stewardship.

Studies and visual assessments determined the exact summit location where this sign, made of Corten steel, was placed. The sign has stainless steel dimensional letterforms that were given a satin finish and pin mounted flush. Etched into the circular inlay of sawcut Pikes Peak granite from the summit are the different names of the mountain used by Native American tribes. The seat wall is made from concrete with a veneer of Pikes Peak granite.

Pikes Peak as a National Historic Landmark welcomes more than half a million visitors a year, has many large annual events, and is home to scientific and communication facilities, all of which needed to be considered in the redesign. One of the historic cultural resources retained on the site is the fa????ade from the original 1873 Summit House. PHOTO CREDIT: PENROSE LIBRARY

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At 14,115 feet, Pikes Peak, nicknamed "America's Mountain," offers extraordinary panoramic vistas. But at that altitude, severe weather conditions battered the visitors' facilities over the years, leading to its decline. Landscape architectural firm DHM Design joined a team of design professionals to restore the summit complex, making it a sustainable, well-functioning campus that hosts more than half a million annual visitors a year, scientific research facilities, and large events throughout the summer.

The final design meets the rigorous performance standard, Living Building Challenge, which encourages the built environment to mimic nature's model: cleanly, beautifully and efficiently. This project is the first to achieve that designation at this high of an altitude. The subalpine-alpine region provides critical habitat for wildlife and birds and necessitated delicate solutions to protect and reestablish the ecosystem that takes decades to establish and thrive.

Ultimately, the planning and site design balanced these many goals so that the complex can efficiently accommodate multimodal arrivals and provide singular visitation experiences that honor the historical and tribal stories of its grandeur.

Purpose and Approach
The new Pikes Peak Summit Complex replaces and consolidates scientific and communication facilities, and a deteriorated visitor center and surrounding structures. The new one-story, non-building is nestled in the southwest corner of the site and an understated entry rises above grade to
greet visitors.

The overall design intent was to preserve its raw, undeveloped state, just as Zebulon Pike observed from Mount Rosa, and as the Native Americans experienced. The plan addressed a much-needed reorganization of the existing site elements and utilities, as well as the flow of arriving visitors. It provides accessibility on this fourteen-thousand-foot mountain peak, while incorporating sustainable practices to the maximum extent possible.

Context
The one-story summit house is set into the hillside, naturally blending into the surrounding landscape with the pavilion's roof terraces functioning as extensions of the surrounding tundra. The layout brings visitors closer to the peak's southern perimeter to experience the vistas that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to pen "America the Beautiful."

The roof terrace's north extension offers an elevated view of the original 1873 Summit House ruins against the backdrop of Colorado Springs below, and provides a clear building entrance for those arriving by train.

The site program provides a complete summit encounter to visitors while restoring previously disturbed areas back to boulder fields and alpine tundra. The summit and summit house provide anchors on the site and interpretive pedestrian walks connect each space, while preserving tundra areas and highlighting historic cultural resources.

Working at 14,115 Feet:
Permafrost and Alpine Tundra
The summit of Pikes Peak is located within the subalpine-alpine region, where vegetation is sparse and restricted to patches between boulders or individual plants beneath rock edges. To protect the fragile vegetation at the peak, the design incorporated a durable, maintenance-free boardwalk system.

Despite its barren appearance and harsh climatic conditions, the mountain provides critical habitat for a wide range of mammals including elk, bobcats, black bears, bighorn sheep, pikas, and marmots. It is also home to several species of birds, including the rock ptarmigan and American pipit, which nest on the ground in sheltered spots atop the summit.
Working at this elevation, DHM's design solutions inherently needed to account for temperature, weather, slope, terrain, soil conditions, and mitigation strategies to avoid impacts to sensitive environments.

The Takeaway
Pikes Peak has been recognized as a significant landmark across generations. It has served as a sacred site for Native American tribes, a beacon to gold seekers traveling westward, an important weather station, and it continues to be one of the area's primary tourist attractions. In order to create an exceptional visitor experience that respects the place the peak holds in our cultural and ecological memory, the design carefully considered and balanced a multitude of goals including accessibility, ecological impacts and educational value.

The design literally and figuratively elevates people above the fragile ecosystem and celebrates the views that make the journey so inspiring.