AMD is thrilled to announce that the firm was honored with two AIA Colorado Design Awards last night. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum received an Award of Excellence, and the J. Robert Young Alpine Ascent Center received an Honorable Mention by the jury. Congratulation to our collaborators and a gracious thank you to the AIA.
United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum
Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado Springs, home of the United States Olympic Training Center, the 60,000 sf interpretive museum, designed in collaboration with Diller Scofidio & Renfro, tells the inspirational stories of American Olympic and Paralympic athletes and the traditions of the global Olympic Movement through a continuous sequence of universally-accessible, media-rich galleries, a state-of-the-art theater, event spaces, and a café.
Today, the USOPM is considered one of the most accessible museums in the world, and most recently received the 2020 Grand Award from the International Association for Universal Design, who noted the museum “embodies so completely the principles of inclusive design by treating all visitors as equal while providing for individual needs in a seamless and elegant whole.”
J. Robert Young Ascent Center
The Ascent Center serves as a gateway and “one stop shop” for student services and admissions, including three new classrooms, the campus store, and a coffee bar. The building's form is two converging wings, which extend towards the campus entry and the campus heart, with outstretched glulam framed roofs. These generous eaves provide a welcoming place for current and prospective students and draw them into the core of the project which is thought of as a student living room; a place to gather and connect with the campus community. The Ascent Center draws upon the vernacular of local agrarian and ranching structures, utilizing strong roof forms and metal paneling to create a building that echoes the character of agrarian building forms.
Inspired by the energy and grace of Team USA athletes and the organization’s inclusive values, the building’s dynamic spiraling form allows visitors to descend the galleries in one continuous path a design concept guided the team to create a truly sustainable project.
