RRL RANCH
RALPH RICKY LAUREN ENTERTAINMENT LODGE
Ridgeway, CO
SITE: The ranch has 27,000 acres of spectacular peaks, aspen groves, streams and meadows on the western side of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. There are a scattering of old homesteads, miner’s cabins and barns on the ranch.
PROGRAM: Mr. Lauren wanted to restore certain historical structures and design new ones to create a rustic guest ranch. Phase one consisted of four “old” guest cabins and a saloon for guests to watch movies and play cards.
DESIGN SOLUTION: Ewing created a structure that looked as though it had evolved over the last hundred years. The main saloon room has a antique rustic bar, stepped stone fireplace, sitting area and game table. An alcove leads to the theater with a sloping log ceiling and sod roof, representing an early settler’s one room cabin and meat cellar. A stairway in the bar leads to the second floor where doors open to the balcony movie viewing. We selectively cut and felled trees from the ranch, purposely using wet green logs that would create shrinkage and cracks just as older structures would show over time.
“This saloon had a very tight construction schedule made possible by great drawings and immediate answers from the architects. Doug talked Mr. Lauren into this saloon idea instead of adding on to the cookhouse and it has become the favorite ranch structure of his illustrious list of guests who stay at the ranch”
“I want this structure to be very rustic and somewhat crude – like it was built and added on to by trappers over a period of time.”
