Mines Park Redevelopment

Design Collective was awarded the renovation and new construction of over 1,000 beds to house upper classmen, graduate students, and families as part of the redevelopment of existing Mines Park into a highly sustainable “village” at the Colorado School of Mines. Working closely with RJ Advisors and a P3 team that included Capstone Development Partners as lead Developer, TreanorHL as architect of record and Puttman Infrastructure as Utility infrastructure developer, an ambitious goal was set to design and build a net zero village that represents the university’s energy conservation ethos while serving as a national model.

After a complete analysis of existing housing at Mines Park, a site plan was developed to identify the buildings to remain/renovate, and to determine the location of six new residential buildings and a “Commons” building. These seven new buildings are all organized along a pedestrian/bike only spine that runs the length of the site and connects to the main campus. This new development sets in motion a vision that will begin construction this summer (2022) and will be completed over multiple phases in the next two years. The first phase will see the construction of three new residential buildings creating 364 beds, along with renovation of existing housing. Phase two will see three more buildings constructed to bring the total number of new beds to 811, while the renovation of the remaining existing housing is also completed.   

The Mines Park site location sits adjacent to the main campus but is separated by major roadways. As a result of this separation, a lot of attention was put in the programming of living and learning spaces at the ground floor of each residential building to serve Mines Park residents and to attract students from the main campus. The large new Commons building is programmed with fitness, dining and various additional amenities. The building will successfully create a space for both students and families, living at Mines Park, to come together. This structure has deep covered porches that allow activities to spill outside into a large communal outdoor space that is linked to all the building entries through the pedestrian spine. These seven buildings range in height between a tall 1 story to 4 stories and work with the overall topography, which falls nearly 80 feet across the site. Solar panel arrays top off one wing of each structure providing energy for the village while also marking the entrances to each residence hall. Along with several other sustainable strategies the project is targeting net zero (energy) and LEED Gold with the hope of achieving LEED Platinum.