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WINNER (ARCHITECTURE + LEARNING, 2025) The Snow King Observatory is currently the only observatory at the top of a ski resort in North America with one of the largest telescopes dedicated to public outreach.This unique project has been privately funded with a mission to educate visitors about astronomy, while providing a venue to host scientific and community events.Transportation to the Snow King Observatory will be via a gondola, also used for skier access to the slopes, or the ambitious can hike 1,600 feet to the top of the in-town resort. The 4,400 square foot structure will house a Plane Wave telescope and its 24 foot dome, a 35 seat planetarium space theater, and a 65 seat auditorium, as well as a small gift shop.
Additionally there will be a glass enclosed office, designed to invite the public into all aspects of the observatory, as well as staff rooms. The architecture team was presented with the rare opportunity to design an observation facility that could both house a huge telescope and accommodate a flow of visitors. The telescope rests on a 20 foot concrete pier anchored in the earth, and isolated from the greater structure, to prevent vibrations from disrupting its position. The rest of the building was planned to have a relatively small footprint so as to not disturb the rich local ecosystem, and it has been intentionally designed with a very low profile, while preserving optimal sight-lines to the surrounding mountains.
All exterior lighting is “dark-sky compliant” with lights aimed at the ground to mitigate light pollution. A portion of the educational programming will address the impact of light pollution on flora and fauna, as well as the telescope’s ability to observe the heavens. The top membrane of the roof is white to reflect solar heat and to reduce energy use during the summer months, while also preventing the emission of heat waves at night, which can distort the telescopic imagery. To increase thermal insulation values in a very cold climate the staggered stud construction also prevents sound from traveling from the building to the outdoors.