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Sahale lodge addition combines sustainability, innovation at Mt. Hood Meadows

Submitting Firm: DOWL
Location: Mt. Hood
Client: LRS Architects
Owner: Mt. Hood Meadows
Other Consultants/Key Participants: Bremik Construction, GRI, IMEG (formerly Nishkian Dean), Interface Engineering, LRS Architects, RDH Building Science, Re-Alignment Environmental, Smith & Greene Company

With its majestic views and legendary ski runs, Mt. Hood is one of the most recognizable symbols of Oregon and a significant contributor to its economy and reputation for outdoor recreation. Responsible stewardship and sustainability are critical to maintaining these benefits, particularly in the mountain鈥檚 higher elevations, where small changes can be amplified lower down the mountain.

The owners of Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort understood this and placed a significant emphasis on sustainability when assembling a project team to implement their plans for expansion. The resort, on the mountain鈥檚 southeast face, had seen its popularity grow considerably since opening in 1967, but by 2019, had not seen a major expansion in more than 20 years.

With plans for a new lodge to the south of the original, the owners selected LRS Architects to lead the design effort. LRS chose DOWL to lead civil engineering design services. John Williamson, LRS project manager, said DOWL鈥檚 contributions to the project were much greater.

鈥淥ur team would discuss concepts and ideas, after which we would each retreat to our offices and workstations to research the practicality of the solutions presented. Each time, DOWL returned with cost-effective, creative options that fulfilled the lofty spirit of the project in functional, intelligent ways,鈥� he wrote in a letter supporting the project for an ACEC award.

Dubbed Sahale (a Native American word meaning 鈥渁bove鈥�), the 23,500-square-foot addition greatly expands the resort鈥檚 dining, rental and education spaces. It features 10,000 square feet of restaurant and patio seating and opened up space in the North Lodge for an additional 670 seats for dining.

The design team faced several challenges, including a building footprint constrained by wetlands and an existing, much-needed parking area; a site grade of 7 percent or more; and yearly snowfall measured in hundreds of inches. Snowmelt and rainfall had previously been handled mainly through temporary retention and redirection into an adjacent, seasonal river, but such techniques did not treat the runoff and contributed to the effects of erosion.

DOWL鈥檚 proposed stormwater solution is a low-impact development technique that directs stormwater from the building through a specially designed heated pipe into a swale adjacent to the building. The swale is traversable by skiers during winter months, and directs the treated water into the wetlands to the west and south. Plantings for the swale came from Mt. Hood Meadows鈥� own specially cultivated seeds of native plants from the mountain.

DOWL made additional contributions to the facility design, providing guidance on access and input on the programmatic layout. Sahale was built partially into the ground on the northern side to connect it to the existing North Lodge via an elevated walkway.

The walkway required careful engineering to maintain grades that comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for the two building doorways underneath each side, while still allowing emergency and maintenance vehicles to pass under the walkway.

The team鈥檚 efforts will be highlighted in Sahale鈥檚 Meadows Learning Center, where summer camp students and resort visitors can see interactive exhibits on the lodge鈥檚 sustainability features.