MITHŪN

Overview

IslandWood provides people with a deeper understanding of the natural environment through hands-on project and outdoor field experience in a curriculum combining science, technology and the arts. This complex undertaking preserves a variety of wetlands, streams and ponds, while restoring an earthen dam and salmon habitat. Careful master planning minimizes the project’s disturbance of the site’s heavily forested ecosystem, which includes rare wetlands, bogs, plants, and a restored salmon-bearing stream. The on-site wood from the solar meadows was milled to provide all interior trim and 50% of exterior siding. Strict clearing limits were enforced around all structures. Building sites only occupy six out of 255 acres.

Awards

2005

• Award of Merit, AIA / CAE Design Awards, American Institute of Architects/Committee on Architecture for Education

2003

• Best of Competition, IN Awards, International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Washington State Chapter
• Honor Award, “Alternative Schools”, DesignShare Awards
• Eagle of Excellence Award and Specialty Construction Award of Excellence, Associated Builders & Contractors of Western Washington

2002

• AIA/COTE Top Ten Green, American Institute of Architects/Committee on the Environment
• What Makes It Green, Seattle American Institute of Architects
• First Place, Professionals, International Design Resource Awards (IDRA), “Design With Memory”, Design Resource Institute

2001

• Ten Shades of Green, AIA Portland Chapter Design Awards, Cascadia Region
• Craftsmanship Award, CSI (Construction Specifications Institute), Puget Sound Chapter

News

• Into the Woods, by Fred Moody, Metropolis POV, January 16, 2008 – Now in its sixth year of operation, the learning center is as close to ­invisible as you can make a six-acre, 18-building ­campus, along with various other structures (tree houses, a bird blind, a shelter, a greenhouse, a suspension footbridge) out in the woods.
• IslandWood among five to receive top award from the Green Building Council, by Heidi Dietrich, November 29, 2002 – Recycled yogurt containers form a bathroom counter. A 90-foot beam salvaged from a Montana mine supports a ceiling. Straw bales covered with stucco create a wall.
• From Tree Top To Bog Bottom, by Richard Seven, June 24, 2001, Pacific Northwest Magazine | SeattleTimes.com – "I liken this project to keeping a series of spinning plates upright," said Mithun principal Bert Gregory. "You run between each to keep them all going. Between the mission, all the structures and sensitive ecology, this is the most complex project I’ve ever been involved with. But it’s worth it."

Links

• IslandWood.org Earth-smart design page
• USGBC Cascadia Chapter In Depth Case Studies: IslandWood
• Sustainable Facilities by Keith Moskow, McGraw Hill 2008. IslandWood is featured in Chaper 14, pgs. 133 – 141. Preview»

Video

View a video about this project produced by IslandWood called “Buildings That Teach”.