Todd Edmonds of HSE Architects
Form and Function
Surrounded by tall pine trees and built into the side of Red Butte in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado sits Green Mountain Falls Skyspace. Oklahoma City-based architect Todd Edmonds of HSE Architects was instrumental in turning James Turrell's vision into reality.
BY Brendan Hoover | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Shevaun Williams
SURROUNDED BY TALL pine trees and built into the side of Red Butte in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado, sits Green Mountain Falls Skyspace. The eighteen-foot-tall rectangular structure is constructed from steel, natural stone collected from nearby quarries, and local Beetle Kill Pine. The Skyspace—an observatory where visitors view the sky through an aperture in the ceiling called an oculus—is one of eighty-five around the world conceived by artist James Turrell, known for his work in the light and space movement.
Oklahoma City-based architect Todd Edmonds was instrumental in turning Turrell’s vision into reality. Edmonds, who has designed many buildings in the Oklahoma City area, says he likes a challenge when it comes to new projects. “If you give me an empty lot with an unlimited budget, it’s not as fun,” he says. “To work within certain parameters, to me that’s very rewarding.”
One of three principals at HSE Architects, the award-winning Edmonds lives what he speaks. A Tulsa native and Oklahoma State University alum, he moved to Oklahoma City in 1990 while most of his graduating class fled the state. “I was engaged to be married, and I needed a job,” he says. After attending a fundraiser for the nonprofit City Arts Center in 1999, Edmonds chaired the same event the following year and then joined the organization’s board, now known as Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. Edmonds also works with many other local philanthropic organizations, including Allied Arts, Rotary Club 29, United Way of Central Oklahoma, and the Downtown Club of Oklahoma City.
The Skyspace opened in June in the quiet, peaceful community of Green Mountain Falls, about ten miles west of Colorado Springs. Visitors hike from Gazebo Lake at the foot of the butte, up to the Skyspace. The work features a clear, retractable roof that can close over the oculus in inclement weather without obstructing the view. With Turrell’s Skyspace now open, the town—already home to artists and arts patrons—is now poised to become a year-round cultural destination. “I don’t think you can have a thriving community without the arts,” says Edmonds.
Reservations for sunrise, closed roof, and sunset viewings of Green Mountain Falls Skyspace are now available.