INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Built Environment Image Guide.
The built environment includes administrative and
recreation structures, landscape structures, site
furnishings, structures on roads and trails, and
signs installed or operated by the Forest Service,
its cooperators, and its permittees.
The guide intends to improve the image,
aesthetics, sustainability, and overall quality of
Forest Service facilities consistent with the
agency’s role as leaders in land stewardship.
To achieve this aim, the guide:
• Describes an approach to designing recreation
and administrative facilities that highlights
key elements of our agency’s national identity
and image.
• Describes a process to “fit” facilities within
the context of their ecological, physical, and
cultural settings.
• Establishes architectural character types for
eight provinces, covering national forests and
grasslands nationwide.
• Incorporates the principles of sustainability as
an integral part of architectural character.
• Illustrates the role everyone, from project
sponsors, line officers, and designers, to field
staff and technicians, plays in creating and
maintaining a quality facility.