Vancouver, WA
Centering the Deaf Experience
The new campus buildings embrace DeafSpace guidelines to amplify visual communication, including intentional acoustic vibrations to extend students’ sensory reach, low-glare glazing and glass corners. Highly tuned classrooms are paired around project-based learning labs and designed with 180-degree, U-shaped seating to maximize American Sign Language / English bilingual instructional practices and equip students for learning in conversation.
Community-Led Engagement
The voices of students, staff and community directed design development and ensured the school’s educational goals were achieved while honoring Deaf culture. Deaf-led workshops activated broad user engagement throughout the process, informing a design that contributes to campus connectivity, transparency and a sense of belonging.
Optimizing Performance with Mass Timber
Applying discoveries from Mithun’s Building Better Schools R+D study, the progressive design-build project leverages mass timber to significantly reduce embodied carbon and support occupant wellbeing—reducing stress, improving daylighting and increasing engagement in a conducive, home-like learning environment.
