Aces Treehouse
The ACES Treehouse, located at Hallam Lake’s 25-acre nature preserve, serves as an educational platform for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). The redesign revitalized the original four-column structure, creating an immersive, sustainable space along the half-mile trail by the Roaring Fork River.
The platform invites visitors to explore Hallam Lake’s diverse ecosystems—woodlands, meadows, ponds, and marshes—while blending seamlessly with the surrounding Cottonwood trees. Designed with marine-grade plywood and polygal, the structure offers two levels: a sheltered lower space for close-up views of river ecology, and an upper deck that allows unobstructed wildlife observation, from ACES’ resident Golden Eagle to river-diving American dippers. Inspired by the vertical elements of Cottonwood bark, the design reuses original materials, honoring both ACES' conservation ethos and CCA's commitment to re-use.
Serving as an outdoor classroom, the Treehouse engages students in hands-on learning, bringing them face-to-face with nature’s wonders and fostering environmental stewardship.
