Pioneers Museum HVAC Upgrade

Saunders Norwood completely removed all past HVAC installations to bring the Pioneers Museum up to modern building code.

Colorado Springs’ Pioneers Museum was the second designated historical property, behind Pikes Peak, making it the first designated historic building listed in El Paso County. The original El Paso County Courthouse building was built in 1903 and moved to its current home in 1979. Following its move, it received its first HVAC upgrade — work Saunders Norwood’s project team fully renovated in 2023.

Saunders Norwood completely removed all past HVAC installations to bring the 4-story, 56,000-square-foot Pioneers Museum up to modern building code. This included everything from new air handling units to gutted and redesigned mechanical rooms, the full removal and replacement of ductwork throughout the building, and replacement of non-code-compliant electrical systems

Working in a museum also meant the project team had to be diligent on protecting over 60,000 historic artifacts from the region. This included moving artifacts to storage areas and hanging plastic to close those areas off from construction dust, building protective enclosures around permanent displays, and even walling off an entire room that holds the original Helen Hunt house.