Sundeck Restaurant
ACEC Colorado 2000 Engineering Excellence Award
“GREEN ENGINEERING” AT THE TOP OF THE ROCKIES
Aspen, Colorado
 The
Aspen Skiing Company (SKI CO) and Cottle Graybeal Yaw Architects, Ltd. (CGY)
approached Beaudin Ganze Consulting Engineers, Inc. (BGCE) to design SKI CO’s
new mountaintop facility, the Sundeck Restaurant, in Aspen, Colorado. Knowing
the globally high-profile project would be under close public scrutiny, SKI
CO embarked on a unique building perspective to maintain their public image
and address the delicate issues that could arise in a politically charged and
environmentally sensitive environment. These issues could not impact the compressed
construction window caused by its 11,200-foot summit location. Possible daily
summertime lightning storms and fall snowstorms pressured the already tight,
and what some considered to be impossible, schedule.
 The
challenge by SKI CO was to have their new facility certified by the U.S. Green
Building Council as part of their pilot Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED™) PROGRAM. Coupled with meeting and exceeding the LEED certification
requirements, BGCE also had the complex challenge of designing the mountaintop
showcase restaurant facility with a logistically difficult location and construction
schedule.
Accepting the challenge, BGCE found that the LEED™ program’s green
building rating system requirements were never intended to be applied to buildings
in such a hostile and extreme mountain environment. However, through careful
planning and teamwork, BGCE and CGY were able to not only meet the strict requirements
of the rating system, but also exceed them in lighting, air quality, and energy
efficiency categories, increasing the number of credits for each area. The result
was taking a building with a “no chance” rating to an award-winning
LEED™ facility. The Sundeck Restaurant is the first facility of its kind
in the world at 11,200 feet above sea level to obtain this level of environmental
recognition.
 BGCE
strategically engineered the mechanical system to accommodate a limited construction
truck size caused by the site access road containing hairpin turns and mud problems.
The system was designed with integral boilers and water heaters to limit the
amount of field construction time during this quick, eight-month construction
window. State-of-the-art Direct Digital Control System (DDC) also allows the
mechanical systems to be controlled and managed at SKI CO’s in-town office.
The result: the facility opened in time for the ski season and SKI CO now has
an environmentally friendly building that they and the public can be proud of.
“Building a unique structure at 11,200 feet on top of Aspen Mountain
with a compressed, eight-month schedule is nothing short of a monumental
task. Construction of the Sundeck Restaurant required that the entire
construction team perform at a very high level of service to meet the
extremely tight schedule. Even with the many constraints placed on the
project, BGCE provided exceptional service in solving the complex issues
that arose to ensure the project was delivered on schedule and built per
design.
Gert Van Moorsel, Construction Manager
Aspen Skiing Company
“BGCE’s Capabilities and contributions stretched beyond standard
engineering design. They presented a system design that strives to be
compatible with architectural design goals, demonstrating a depth of knowledge
and understanding of design and technology. They were able to meet the
demanding schedule in a thorough and timely manner, while addressing the
complex project requirements: specifically, the pursuit of alternative
design solutions and the execution of environmentally sensitive design
to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED™ criteria.”
Susan Touchette, Architect
Cottle Graybeal Yaw Architects, Ltd.
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