Pikes Peak Summit Complex

Kiowa Engineering worked as a part of the overall design team for the Pikes Peak Summit Complex (PPSC) project.  The team was led by RTA Architects for Pikes Peak - America’s Mountain.  The PPSC project includes the relocation and reconstruction of the Pikes Peak Summit house, consolidation of the plant facility, location of the new United States Army’s High-Altitude Research Laboratory (HARL), reconfiguration of the summit access & parking layout, and layout of a new summit marker for the mountain.  The project involved working with five separate entities during design, including the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs Utilities, the Manitou and Pikes Peak GOG Railway, the United States Army, and the United States Forest Service.  The summit of Pikes Peak is owned and operated as an enterprise of the City of Colorado Springs by Pikes Peak - America’s Mountain.  Colorado Springs Utilities operates its communication system from the mountain.  The Manitou and Pikes Peak COG Railway operates a railway from the base of Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak.  The United States Army operates the High-Altitude Research Laboratory at the summit.  All the entities operate under the supervision of the United States Forest Service who operates and manages Pike National Forest upon which the summit sits.

The design of the Pikes Peak Summit Complex was controlled by the weather on the peak and the altitude of the mountain.  The climate on the top of Pikes Peak is artic in nature, with permafrost prevalent under the summit itself.  The old summit house’s life span was shortened due to the freeze-thaw process that takes place on the summit along with the high winds using the gravel of parking lot to ‘sand-blast’ the structure.  All of this was taken in account during design process.  The building was ultimately situated such that only the upper level is exposed to high winds and the structure is designed not to transfer its heat to the ground, potentially allowing the thawing process to cause the building the settle unevenly.  The building was situated such that the main windows are directed at Mount Rosa where it is believed that Zebulon Pike ended his attempt to climb the mountain named for him. 

The actual summit of Pikes Peak is now marked with an obelisk and is accessible by all with elevated boardwalks leading to the marker which indicates all of the names the mountain has been referred to through history.  The site was designed and constructed to ADA standards allowing the summit to be visited by all.  The building is being constructed to the requirements of “Living Building Challenge.”

 
 

Project Information

Location
El Paso County, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Client
City of Colorado Springs:
Pikes Peak America’s Mountain

Services Provided

  • Civil Design of Public Infrastructure

  • Site Engineering

  • Stormwater Management Planning and Design

  • Erosion Control & Construction Stormwater Management

  • Construction Monitoring (limited)