ROYAL GORGE VISITOR CENTER

Cañon City, Colorado

In the summer of 2013, the area surrounding the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado (the highest bridge in the United States) was consumed by wildfires, destroying most of the existing park facilities. With a local treasure almost lost and the potential for the park to lose revenue for an entire season, the project had to be designed and constructed in less than a year.

The owners wanted a building that hearkened to the angular fractured landscape while consolidating the former program under one roof. A series of shifted roof planes was assembled to house the park functions within an otherwise standard rectangular box.

With a tight budget in mind, the interior spaces were left raw while charred remains of the wood planks used for the bridge roadway, were re-purposed into the exterior skin of the visitor center.

A viewing deck is precariously perched out over the side of the 1,000-foot deep canyon, while also receiving an aerial tram and a zip line - taking visitors across the gorge, high above the Arkansas River.