Arts in the Woods

Peninsula College Maier Hall

Port Angeles, WA

Capturing Daylight and Views

Set amongst old growth trees in an iconic Pacific Northwest landscape, Maier Hall’s brick-clad facade is articulated by a prominent steel ledger that follows floor lines and captures floor-to-ceiling windows that maximize daylight and ventilation. The syncopated rhythm of openings responds to the vertical stacking of programs spaces and to the building’s solar exposures.

Bringing Programs Together

Multiple academic programs—English, math, music, drama and art—intermingle with shared learning environments, the college’s tutoring center and a performance theater designed with variable acoustics to accommodate a wide range of uses from lectures to recitals and film.

Enhancing the Surrounding Environment

The building connects community spaces on campus to the surrounding natural environment, while minimizing impacts to adjacent ecosystems: virgin forests, wetlands and an ecologically-sensitive ravine. Rainwater from the landscape and roof surfaces provides critical water to a struggling wetland via an exposed runnel and flow-spreader at the wetland’s edge.