Park Shelters
Cherry Creek State Park, Aurora, Colorado
39-38-09 N, 104-52-10 W
Structural Engineer: Ketchum Konkel Barrett Nickel Austin
Architect: Cabell Childress
Builder: Blackinton & Decker
Configuration: Hyperbolic paraboloid shells
Measurements: unknown
Purpose: Park shelters
Year: c. 1974
These thin-shell concrete shelters were built about the same time as the concrete "sails" on the marina restroom building, likely 1974. There are ten of these shelters, all poured on the same reusable formwork. Several of the shelters are shown here; I selected images based on terrain, trees, and lighting angles. Each shelter is formed by two hyperbolic paraboloid shapes joined in the center. You can see the sawtooth or stepped shape from the edges of the straight boards of the formwork. Common practice was to affix plywood over formwork boards to give a smooth surface, but for this project they let the "raw" shape of the stepped formwork boards show.
Slight damage was visible on a few of the shells. This appears to be spalling from decades of freeze-thaw cycles. I was really quite pleased by the condition of these shelters.
The author visited in December 2019, delighted by how much the visual appearance of the shells changed from different viewing angles.
References
Anonymous. "Design for Recreation: Bold forms establish a sense of place in 'wide-open' spaces." Architectural Record (November 1975): 120.
Anonymous. "Ideas: Ingenious, Bold, Playful." Architectural Record (Mid-August 1975): 123.
Updated March 28, 2021