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designing buildings that connect
West Eugene Wetlands Educational Center
Studio Fall 2007. New Construction. Educational and Research.
+ Furnish the landscape and use the buildings and structures to stitch together the wetlands.
+ Design a switch-rich wall section to passively mediate between interior and exterior environments with active participation from occupants.
+ Employ a palette of regionally appropriate and ecologically sensitive materials.
+ Stitch buildings and programs together with rainwater and demonstration gardens.
Tools Hand Sketching Hand Modeling Hand Rendering
Phases PD SD
At the junction of three wetlands, the West Eugene Wetlands Education Center extends the eye to the horizon with gently sloping green roofs.
The construction system reflects the surrounding ecological zones and creates spaces that capture the imagination.
Children’s education areas, community amenities, and staff offices inhabit the upland prairie, overlooking reconstructed wetlands and the highway. Rainwater and demonstration gardens stitch the buildings together. Strawbale walls on the north side of the buildings create areas that need little conditioning. South-facing timber-framed areas house zones that can swing in temperature along with their solar gain. Users open and close switches in the envelope to keep insulated rooms within these areas comfortable.