The Highest Level of Excellence 
Pikes Peak, located on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, is known as “America’s Mountain.” It is the nation’s only mountaintop of at least 14,000 feet in altitude that anyone can visit, regardless of age or fitness level. In fact, its summit is a National Historic Landmark. Each year, more than half a million people scale the mountain to marvel at the breathtaking views that inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write her poem “America the Beautiful.” When the aging visitor center could no longer serve the number of guests attracted to the mountaintop each year, plans for a new visitor center moved into high gear. 
 

Project Challenges 
Pikes Peak stands 14,115 feet above sea level, making it the highest-altitude construction site in North America. Extreme weather capable of wind gusts of up to 270 mph, temperatures of 40 degrees below zero, and year-round snow created challenges for the design and construction team. And in another layer of complexity, the Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center was designed to achieve both LEED Silver and Living Building Challenge certifications, the latter being the world’s most rigorous proven performance standard for buildings. 

Why OBE Was Selected 
The harsh environment had taken its toll on the original summit structure, which was built in the 1960s. “It was very old, and it was falling apart,” says Lauren McMillon, OBE’s project manager. OBE was brought onto the design team early and worked directly with El Paso Glass, the glazing contractor, and the architects to help meet the stringent design requirements. 

“Designing curtain wall systems which could withstand the extreme weather conditions while also meeting the stringent requirements of the Living Building Challenge, was certainly a large task for everyone involved with the project,” said Erik Martin, President of El Paso Glass. “Lauren and the OBE team were great to work with throughout the process and after much collaboration I believe we landed on a design which visitors can enjoy for generations,” he continued. 

How OBE Met the Challenge 
OBE rose to the occasion by assembling a large internal team of OBE experts to devise key strategies for each and every aspect and requirement needed to build and meet specs, ensuring every detail was considered and accounted for. This included: 

• Conducting project-specific performance mock-up impact testing at wind speeds of up to 270 miles per hour 

• Cladding the aluminum vertical mullions in stainless steel to protect them from the corroding effect of high winds bearing particles of granite 

• Adding those mullions to the Reliance™ StormMax® High Performance 10-foot system that could be attached directly to the structural steel building framing 

• Researching and documenting vendor compliance with the Living Building Challenge’s material ingredient Red List