Most Recent News at RTA

Did you know that buildings generate nearly 40% of annual global CO2 emissions? As architects, we have a unique opportunity to make a big difference in combating climate change. Building materials and processes emit carbon dioxide throughout the life cycle of a building and related infrastructure. RTA is committed to implementing sustainable design practices and sourcing environmentally-friendly materials across our projects to help minimize embodied carbon emissions for a healthier environment. Click here to learn more about embodied carbon and how design and construction can drive significant change.

The sun was shining on Peak Vista Community Health Center Downtown as staff, community members, and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers gathered to celebrate the opening of Peak Vista's newest facility. This new health center will offer medical, dental, and behavioral health services to those at risk of, or who are currently experiencing, homelessness and provide care to a quickly growing number of residents and their families in downtown Colorado Springs. The health center will see its first patients Friday, April 22.

The Pueblo Community Health Center East Side Clinic was a recent feature in Healthcare Snapshots, and we'd love to give you a peek into the interior of this state-of-the-art medical building.

Calming. Natural. Timeless. These adjectives describe the mood that the East Side clinic wanted to achieve with its interior environment. To support these ideas, we looked to nature. Biophilia is the idea that people innately connect to nature; therefore, an environment design based on nature will reflect a mood of calm, nature, and even be timeless.

Through color, each floor represents a different element of nature - plants/green/first, animals/yellow/second and sky/blue/third. The colors also help with wayfinding to tell patients where they are just by the accent colors they see. Accent-colored carpet also denotes the exit path for the clients within the clinic areas. Textural carpet, with different levels of the accent color, adorns the open areas. The pattern in the flooring utilizes fractals, a pattern found in nature that repeats itself randomly at different scales. This introduces nature into the space with the same innate feeling that nature evokes in us.

The result is a space that makes the people feel comfortable and relaxed when they enter, and then helps to set them on the path toward recovery as they leave. 

Read more about this project here.

Frigid temperatures didn’t dim our excitement in celebrating the for exciting milestones for two new schools designed by the joint venture of RTA and MOA Architecture for Pueblo School District 60, Franklin School of Innovation and Sunset Park Elementary School. A big shout out to Nunn Construction for efficiently moving the festivities indoors! These energy-efficient BEST Grant funded schools are scheduled to open for the 2023 school year.

Read more about the groundbreakings here.

We’re thrilled to be again sponsoring the Colorado Springs Business Journal’s Superintendents Panel. Join us Friday, March 17 at 11:30 a.m. to network with El Paso County’s education leaders. Hear from the Superintendents of Cheyenne Mountain, Falcon, Fountain-Fort Carson, Harrison District Two, Lewis Palmer, and Manitou Springs, how they’re coping with the challenges they face, and what the future looks like for K-12 education. Get your tickets here for the luncheon or to attend virtually. 

The wait is over! The Pueblo Community Health Center East Side Clinic is open and saw  its first patient last month. The new clinic offers Primary Care, Clinical Laboratory, Pharmacy, Dental, and Behavioral Health services in one convenient location to serve Pueblo’s east side. The East Side Clinic is also pursuing Zero Energy certification, making it the first Zero Energy outpatient clinic in the state of Colorado upon its verification according to the New Buidings Institute. We are so excited to see this clinic fulfill its mission of serving  Pueblo for many years to come!

Read more about the new East Side Clinic here.

This project is right up our alley! 

Once dark narrow spaces, relegated to delivery trucks and trash bins, urban alleys across the country are being transformed into bright, welcoming pedestrian areas through public art and creative placemaking. The first activated alley in downtown Colorado Springs is now underway between the Carlton Building and RTA’s headquarters, the historic Hibbard Building. Named AdAmAn Alley, it will celebrate the AdAmAn Club’s 100^th anniversary of summiting Pikes Peak to present their annual New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration.

AdAmAn Alley will feature murals celebrating the ecology and cultural significance of Pikes Peak, new pavement with an artistic treatment evoking Barr Trail, LED “fireworks,” and “AdAmAn Alley” gateway arch directly facing Pikes Peak.

We’re so excited to be designing this project with the Downtown Partnership, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region, the City of Colorado Springs, and Colorado Springs Utilities, and the AdAmAn Club. The new AdAmAn Alley is expected to finish for the ringing in of 2023 New Year! Read more about this exciting project here.

Join us at the APDesign K-State Expo! Visit with Principal Ken Gregg and Emerging Professional Landon Cook, both K-State alumni, at tomorrow’s Design Expo at the Hilton Garden Inn & Convention Center from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. We have openings for internships and full-time licensed and non-licensed architectural staff, so bring your resume. We look forward to seeing you! 

In honor of Black History Month, we are highlighting Fannie Mae Duncan, the first African American woman to succeed as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community activist in Colorado Springs. Through her founding of the Cotton Club, Duncan brought jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Etta James, and B.B. King to the Springs. As she employed a multi-ethnic staff and attracted a racially diverse clientele the sign in the window of the Club, “Everybody Welcome” meant just that. She went on to open a 42-room mansion to create accommodations for African American guests since many hotels still had racial restrictions.  Ms. Duncan was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Womens Hall of Fame in 2012. Read more about her incredible life and legacy here.

Photo Courtesy of the Pikes Peak Library District

The Association for Learning Environments Rocky Mountain Chapter is hosting a tour through the RTA-designed Newton Middle School for Littleton Public Schools. Join architects and educational facility planners from across the region Friday, March 4^th from 2-4pm for an inside look at this beautiful facility. Click here to register for this event.