The layout of the Hotel/Resort Complex was influenced by the Great Houses in Chaco Canyon in Northern New Mexico, inhabited more than a 1000 years ago.

The bold architectural features—the D shape, a monumental semicircular floor plan; the massive walls of Pueblo Bonito, the largest of the Great Anasazi Houses; the open area inside the walls a plaza—all shield the inhabitants and their belongings from wind and sun and other adversities. Even the ancient roads leading to and from Chaco Canyon were flanked by mounds of earth to accommodate travelers. The same features are essential to housing in a desert environment, the setting just as grand and stark, the climate just as harsh.

The Great Houses were built with a deep understanding of local climate, while the alignment of buildings with celestial events reflects an astute awareness of human dependence on planetary movements. In the 21st century that same keenness of observation has enabled space exploration and inspired space-age enterprises—the culture that flourished in Chaco Canyon centuries ago a vivid reminder of an incessant human ingenuity.

Text copyright @ by Aleksandra Kasuba 2007