| The North American ski industry has grown over the past century from a small, family-owned and -operated industry, to a multi-billion dollar industry dominated by corporate management organizations. The rise of corporate resort ownership has led to the trend of the construction base village developments at ski resorts around the country to attract guests, and therefore revenue, to their resorts. Though many base villages have been very successful in attracting skiers, examples of poor landscape architectural design practices abound in the industry. This study examines several design elements considered to be the "fundamental elements of designed space," applies these elements to base village design throughout the country, critically examines their implementation in built examples, and presents suggestions and recommendations for future mountain resort base village design practices. |
