Research Laboratories:

Colorado Center for Altitude Research and Physiology

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

Good fortune arrived at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center with the donation of a hypobaric chamber and a grant to fund research into the effects of high altitude on exercise. Gail Pelsue was the project architect who designed an addition to an existing building to house the chamber. She also designed the interior renovation of the existing building to serve the research to be done.

The chamber itself was lifted onto the foundation and the addition constructed around the unit. This facility allows the researchers to study the human body as 5280 feet above sea level and as high as Mt. Everest in Nepal.

The addition is sympathetic to the original structure and the interior work space is bright and cheerful. Because the research scientists often spend extensive time inside the chamber conducting their studies, we aligned the exterior windows with the portholes of the chamber . This detail allows the researcher working inside the chamber to experience the cycles of the day.