Sundeck Restaurant

At Issue

The Aspen Skiing Company (SKI CO) and Cottle Graybeal Yaw Architects, Ltd., approached Beaudin Ganze Consulting Engineers, Inc., to design a new mountain-top facility, the Sundeck Restaurant, in Aspen, Colorado. Knowing the globally high-profile project would be under close public scrutiny, SKI CO embarked upon 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 virtually impossible, schedule.

BGCE's Work

• To address the public concerns about environmental impact, the design team developed solutions in accordance with the U.S. Green Building Council's green building guidelines as set forth in their pilot Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program


• Engineered systems that could accommodate the harsh mountain-top climatic conditions, which included -30° F temperatures, 70 mph winds, blowing and drifting snow, and limited water availability


• Strategically engineered the mechanical systems to accommodate a limited construction truck size caused by the site access road containing hairpin turns and mud problems


• Engineered a solution such that equipment was to be to be factory built or built off-site due to the critical construction schedule, and coordinated the unusual solution with equipment manufacturers and contractors


• Designed systems with integral boilers and water heaters to limit the amount of field construction time during the eight month construction window


• Design and selection of the equipment included forced draft boilers compensated for the high altitude "thin air" application. The water heating was achieved by tube heaters located "in" the boilers to minimize labor time and reduce space requirements


• Portions of the mechanical system were situated in so as to minimize the impact of drifting snow at the outside air intake and combustion air louvers


• Worked closely with Architect to integrate the mechanical systems into the architecture in order to preserve its high-profile visual impact and status as a landmark facility. This challenge was further compounded by the types of systems required for a restaurant/dining facility


• Design included a sophisticated Building Automation System (BAS) which allowed all controls and points of sale to be monitored not only at Sundeck Restaurant, but also at a remote location for ease of maintenance

Client Benefits

• The facility's status as a LEED certified structure addressed public and environmental concerns


• The facility was completed on time, allowing Aspen Mountain to open as scheduled


• The system solution provides for ease of operation and maintenance.


• The systems provide reliable performance despite the extreme climatic conditions