David Land, a landscape architect who is heading up the Ayres team, said the new plaza design plays a critical role in the new civic complex. It connects and ties together all the surrounding buildings of differing ages and styles, so it feels more like a planned complex instead of a random group of buildings.
The buildings and their surrounding amenities provide a place where Town officials, residents, and visitors can conduct daily municipal functions as well as gather for organized and impromptu social events.
“ Steamboat Springs is an interesting community. It has a bit of that western cowboy feel in a ski town,” said Craig Stoffel, an Ayres landscape architect who worked on the plaza design.
Stoffel said a guiding principle behind that design is to announce that Civic Plaza will be far more than a work area for local officials.
“ This is intended to be a space for everyone,” Stoffel said.“ We really want to make this a public representation of the community and its heritage. I think
the plaza fits in well with the buildings, and together they effectively show off the Town to tourists.”
Land and his team collaborated with the Denver-based Davis Partnerships Architects, designers of the City Hall and fire station, to see that the plaza blends well with the new and existing buildings that surround the site and in a manner that ties the civic complex in an elegant and functional manner.
Plaza offers a modern take on traditional visitor’ s center
The new fire station features many windows, and from the adjacent Civic Plaza visitors can easily observe the work that goes on inside. And with a training fire hydrant included on the edge of the plaza, firefighters can demonstrate to children and other visitors some of the tasks involved in fighting fires.
Civic Plaza’ s many other features allow it to function as a sort of self-serve, outdoor visitor’ s center.
A large medallion embedded in the pavement in the center of the plaza features an interpretive map that shows
how the town grew up along the Yampa River, a major watershed that flows through downtown Steamboat Springs.
There are also three concrete pedestals in the plaza where sculptures can be displayed. These pedestal bases are designed to allow for pieces to be periodically changed to refresh and enliven the space.
Other Civic Plaza design features include park benches, decorative lighting, flower and planting beds, and river boulders locally sourced in Yampa Valley. Via QR codes included next to the boulders, plaza visitors can access websites providing detailed information about the Town’ s history and its many cultural and entertainment offerings.
Parachute renovation project still in the planning phase
With the Steamboat Springs project completed, Land and his team continue to partner with the Town of Parachute on the revival of a neglected area in the community’ s downtown, a project that Elliott estimates is two years away from construction.
4 | TRENDS Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence.