Centre Sky Architecture, LTD. Current Projects; Palisade Academy (Gateway, Colorado)

Unique among all the resorts in the world is Gateway Canyon’s offer of a “vacation for the mind” as well as retreat for the body and spirit. The resort’s lifelong learning promise is fulfilled at The Palisade Academy, a beautiful and grand facility that will offer an array of engaging and enlightening programs. The Palisade Academy facilities will be organized around a Grand Discovery Foyer with arched doorways leading to each of the three long Learning Passages to the Observatory, DaVinci School of Cuisine, the Palisade Workshops, and several multi-function theatres.

Sustainable Sites
Buildings affect ecosystems in a variety of ways. New buildings can impact wildlife habitat, agricultural land, open space, natural stormwater flows, stormwater treatment, and localized temperature. In addition, the options that people have for travel to and from a building impacts the ecosystem.

Erosion & Stormwater Control – During construction extra care will be taken to prevent loss of topsoil due to construction disturbance and to prevent sedimentation and excessive stormwater runoff from entering the storm sewer or nearby streams. Plus, the grounds were designed to utilize vegetated areas to allow natural stormwater infiltration rather than allowing excessive flows of stormwater to leave the site which can have negative impacts on the ecosystem.
Open Space
Construction impact will be limited to as small an area as possilbe to reduce the impact on the surrounding vegitation. In addition Gateway Canyons Resort was designed to include extensive open spaces for both humans and wildlife to enjoy.

Energy Efficiency

According to the USGBC, buildings are responsible for the consumption of almost 40% of the energy and 68% of the electricity produced in the United States. Much of the electricity produced in this country is derived from fossil fuels which are a primary contributor to global climate change.

Energy Efficient Systems & Renewable Energy
Understanding the importance of reducing its energy use Gateway Canyons implemented a variety of strategies, reducing the yearly energy consumption by 32%. A few of the strategies include the use of high efficiency systems, passive solar design and the use of a solar hot water system (saving approximately 8% of the annual energy cost alone).

Materials & Resources
Building materials choices are important for a variety of reasons, from the extensive network of extraction, process, and transportation associated with processing them, to the debris they produce. In fact, the USGBC states that construction waste debris accounts for approximately 40% of the waste that enters landfills. To reduce their impact the Gateway Canyons took a variety of measures:

Construction Waste Management
The project is working towards diverting at least 50% of all construction waste and debris from the landfill. In addition, the Gateway Canyons Resort will employ a resort wide recycling program for visitors and guests to recycle glass, cardboard, paper, metals, and plastics.
Regional & Local Materials
Materials with recycled content as well as locally extracted and manufactured materials were specified on the project. The use of these materials reduces the need to extract raw materials as well the reduced impact from the process of transporting materials over long distances to the job site.

Indoor Environmental Quality
Americans on average spend 90% of their time indoors where the EPA reports that levels of pollutants can be as much as two to five times higher than outdoor levels.

Interior Environment
Gateway Canyons has been designed to provide a high level of guest comfort and give guests the maximum amount of control over their indoor environment. Also guest rooms and common areas have an abundance of daylight and access to views.