WASHINGTON, DC RMG Engineers of Colorado Springs, Colorado, earns a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies' (ACEC) 49th annual Engineering Excellence Awards for designing facilities for the Broadmoor Hotel's Cloud Camp in Colorado Springs.

The project called for incorporating remnants of the original 1926 Broadmoor lodge into the new camp's cabins, lodge, and fire tower cabin atop 9,200-foot high Cheyenne Mountain. With only a century-old switchback road to access the site, log supports and other building components had to be designed for transport on smaller trucks. A ramp system with extensive side stairs for worker access and a cable pulled "trolly" was installed to haul materials to the remote fire tower suite. Numerous potholes were dug into the rugged terrain to determine the precise length for building foundation supports that extend through loose decomposed granite to reach bedrock. Due to the difficulty in excavating into the granite surface, the finish basement floor elevation depths were coordinated to bear directly onto this material, avoiding the need for excavation.

ACEC recognized 151 projects throughout the nation and the world as preeminent engineering achievements, and all were eligible for top national honors. Judging for this year's awards - known industry-wide as the "Academy Awards of the engineering industry"- took place in February, conducted by a panel of more than 30 engineers, architects, government officials, media members, and academia. Award criteria included uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, complexity, and success in achieving goals.

Winners of the top national awards - including 16 Honor Awards, eight Grand Awards and the prestigious "Grand Conceptor Award" for the year's most outstanding overall engineering achievement - will be revealed at the annual Engineering Excellence Awards Dinner and Gala at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.