Peter Fillat Architects Wins Grand Award for Bear Creek Mountain Resort
in
2006 NAHB Awards of Excellence Competition
October 5, 2005
Lodge and Adjacent Hotel
Baltimore, MD- Peter Fillat Architects has been awarded a prestigious Grand Award in the 2006 Awards of Excellence competition by the National Commercial Builders Council of the National Association of Home Builders. The award was presented for excellence in designing a new inn and lodge facility for Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, Pennsylvania.
The facility includes 53 slope-side guestrooms, a banquet hall, a retail plaza with a ski shop and school, as well as a restaurant and family-style dining, which has enabled Bear Creek Mountain Resort to be one of the best full-service ski destinations in the Mid-Atlantic region, as it is conveniently located near Philadelphia, Reading and Allentown, Pennsylvania. The award was given on the basis of excellence in design, functionality, as well as financial, construction and energy efficiency.
The aesthetics of the resort blend the familiar and the unexpected in the eyes of the viewer. A long series of sloping roofs, awnings and wood decks step the structure down to the ground, emulating the majestic slopes surrounding the resort. The exterior wall's stone base, wood decks, wooden trusses, beams, and massive stone fireplaces subtly honor the indigenous Shaker building tradition. Care was taken to create a comfortable and relaxed, yet rustic environment for guests of the resort.
Designed for energy efficiency in several ways, the resort implements a propane gas system, large windows that allow for heat gain and daylighting, and a water conservation system that converts precipitation into manufactured snow.
In conjunction with Southern Management Corporation, R.D. Jones, Century Engineering, Mahan Rykiel Associates, Weiser Engineering, Palindrome Lighting Design and Ondra-Huyett Associates, the first expansion of the Bear Creek Mountain Resort was completed in a cost-effective manner during the off-season in less than seven months. Due to the resort's success in the past year, PFA is currently designing another expansion for the resort that includes 64 additional guestrooms and additional banquet/meeting space. Construction is slated to commence in April 2006.