Washington School for the Deaf, Divine Academic and Hunter Gymnasium
Vancouver, Washington.
Merit Award
Presented by Skanska USA Building
owner Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY) Washington School for the Deaf
Leading design company Mithun
General Contractor Skanska USA Building
Civil Engineer HHPR
Structural Engineer PCS Structural Solutions
MEP engineer actor
DeafSpace Consultants HB/A+P
To create a warm and welcoming environment for 150 students who are deaf or hard of hearing, this $53 million LEED Gold solid wood structure offers a non-institutional aesthetic while serving as a critical element to support deaf users’ interaction with the physical environment.
Complete with progressive design and construction, the project offers a full suite of academic, administrative and physical education programs on a residential campus where students live and learn.
Because solid wood was not included in the original proposed design, the team had to obtain a new insurance policy that had a higher fire risk. Skanska, structural engineer PCS and Mithun collaborated to submit a detailed application demonstrating risk mitigation steps, successfully negotiating the insurance rate to a substantially lower amount.
A three-layer cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor and ceiling system supported by beamless glulam columns and beams reduced wood fiber use by more than 50% through careful spacing and material selection. MEP systems were unobtrusively routed to the corridor ceilings and electrical conduits embedded in the plaster concrete decking minimized visual clutter.
Student areas have wooden floors in a dormitory system so that teachers can draw attention with their feet and students have improved spatial awareness. Wide corridors allow for ASL communication, while glass walls in blind corners improve visual safety.
