The Blake Hotel at Taos Ski Valley
Taos Ski Valley, N.M.     
Award of Merit

Owner: Taos Ski Valley Inc.
Lead Design Firm: Zehren & Associates
General Contractor: Jaynes Corp.
Civil Engineer: Russell Planning & Engineering
Structural Engineer: Monroe & Newell
MEP Engineer: Beaudin-Ganze
Collaborative Design Firm: Los Griegos Studio
Subcontractors: Yearout Mechanical; Service Electric; Les File Drywall; National Roofing; AMFAB

Nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northeastern New Mexico, the Blake Hotel at Taos Ski Valley features 65 guest rooms, 15 suites and 9 condominium units. One of the most consistent challenges on the 18-month project was working during unrelenting winter weather conditions.

Judges praised the work of contractor Jaynes Corp. and the project team’s dedication to safety, which  resulted in zero recordable safety incidents over 350,000 worker-hours. Beyond the safety plan and regular safety meetings, the team utilized Jaynes’ in-house digital safety survey reporting and field data collection system. The system allows safety personnel to compile detailed all-inclusive jobsite safety reports including photo documentation and corrective actions. The system also embraces the work of subcontractors by tracking their site safety record.

The Jaynes team also held safety discussions at daily foreman coordination meetings, crew safety huddles and project progress meetings with owners and designers. The project’s safety record was also buoyed by Jaynes’ Safety Brings You Home initiative, which encourages personnel to be safe on and off the jobsite, and by  the Jaynes Safety Academy, an in-house training program for field supervisors and craft workers that covers a wide array of topics.

Aesthetics on the project involved significant millwork for both the interior and exterior of the facility. The project’s major millwork subcontracting partner, Jaynes Millwork, ordered, inventoried, manufactured, delivered and installed tens of thousands of feet of Douglas fir, alder and ipe. Millwork accounted for more than 6,500 hours of project management time and 2,500 hours of engineering time and included a team of 12 in-house craftsmen working more than 10,000 fabrication hours and 50 craftsmen working on the installation of the interior and exterior millwork.

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