Lamb Springs Archaeological Preserve

The Lamb Spring site is located southwest of Denver, and is the home of an important archeological discovery that contains mammoth and bison remains, as well as evidence of human occupancy in North America about 4,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The site is an active archeological dig, however it lacks a permanent space for exhibits and research. The LSAP would like to resolve this issue by building a permanent facility which will contain exhibit space, education spaces, a paleontology lab, admin offices, a cafe, and a gift shop.

As a team we designed a beautiful rammed earth, black metal panel, and glass building. Terra cotta louvers on the south facade provide solar control and filter the light to provide appropriate daylighting for the galleries. Visitors are guided through the museum by a one-way, infinity-shaped serpentine ramp that functions as the museum’s primary circulation path. The serpentine ramp connects all spaces of the museum, and offers a variety of galleries on two levels without requiring the use of stairs.

Challenges: Since the Lamb Spring site is an active archeological dig, one central challenge was to provide security, shade, and basic support services at the dig site, while avoiding ground penetrations which could damage undiscovered artifacts. In response I proposed a relocatable pavilion and a bridge that spans between the visitor’s center and the dig site pavilion. The bridge is held in tension by a counterweight in the visitor’s center, so that the entire cable-supported walkway to the dig structure can avoid touching the ground. As the dig moves around the site, the museum staff can raise the counterweight to release the tension on the bridge, relocate the dig structure, and then lower the counterweight to restore the bridge tension.

My Role: Design Team Member

I worked closely with my partners Sara Weshe and Hillary Thomas to complete this project. We came up with the design together, and we made all decisions as a team.

Task		Part of a team	Personal focus area
Pre-Design
	Research: project requirements, applicable regulations, required submittals, constraints	x
	Code Study	x
Schematic Design
	Site Design	x
	Massing Design	x
	Interior Space Layout	x
	SD-level presentations	x
Design Development
	Design refinement	x
	DD-level presentations	x
Final Presentation
	Renderings		x
	Select detail drawings	x
	Final presentation materials	x