Haxtun, Saving Main Street

HDR Architecture

Recognitions: 2020 Central States Region Awards (Unbuilt)

Project Description

The design challenge proposed by this prototype development: Can a medical/skilled nursing element be combined with rural town storefronts to create a mixed-use community that allows all functional programs to thrive in rural environments? The intention of this design engagement is to combine uses as a catalyst to transform the community of Haxtun, Colorado while also providing a thought provoking case study which could be applied to rural communities around the country. It is intended to engage with the issues of health, wellness, and economics; and is designed to offer an environment that offers a unique and positive community identity. Using readily available pre-manufactured building structures, combined with adaptive reuse/renovation of existing storefronts on Haxtun’s ‘main street’ (Colorado Ave.), this project proposes an alternative to closing rural, critical access hospitals by injecting these facilities more directly into the semi-urban fabric of the communities they serve. This creates a symbiotic relationship – in the case of Haxtun, 10% of the town’s population works at the existing hospital. Bringing those folks to main street and consolidating resources allows the hospital and town to work together to maintain critical businesses and services.