Project Description
Situated among high desert junipers, pines, and volcanic boulders near the Deschutes River, Cascades Academy of Central Oregon houses students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The 20-acre campus for the non-profit independent school is comprised of an academic building and a detached gymnasium. The main wing of the academic building, which contains a commons, library, science labs, and offices, is combined with upper and lower school classroom wings to form a protected courtyard.
Cascades Academy was committed to retaining the character of the high desert landscape while providing a healthy and inspiring learning environment. The school promotes experiential learning through a curriculum that encourages student participation, accountability, respect and collaboration, both inside the classroom and within the natural environment and community. Conceptual design reflected the school’s unique values and functional requirements, and spirit of the site and regional. A campus master plan was established to allow the school to expand over multiple phases.
Establishing a deliberate dialogue between the buildings and the terrain, and between indoor spaces and the landscape, were principal design inspirations. Shed-roofed building forms that house program spaces are oriented to provide control of daylight and juxtaposed to form common circulation spaces. Abundant daylight floods in from clerestories, skylights, and generous banks of deeply shaded windows that connect the interior to the natural landscape. The commons, library, and upper and lower school gathering spaces flow freely into circulation and each opens directly to the site. Framed views, protected terraces, and porches create strong visual, physical, and spatial relationships with the surrounding terrain. All classrooms are of similar size to allow for flexibility as the school grows. The buildings are clad in cedar, stucco and metal roofing in colors sympathetic to those found in the vegetation, soil, and volcanic debris native to the site.
Cascades Academy embraced long-term thinking and sustainable design with respect to materials and systems. The site and buildings are designed to be largely self-sufficient. Taking advantage of the excavation for the athletic field, the primary heat source is a horizontal geo-exchange loop installed beneath the field. An onsite well and cistern provide water, and native vegetation along with low flow and waterless plumbing fixtures help make the most of this limited resource. A displacement ventilation system using 100% outdoor air coupled with operable windows provides efficient ventilation; air conditioning is limited to the administrative offices and commons. The gym is constructed of insulated concrete forms and is 100% naturally ventilated. Roofs at the classrooms and gym are oriented and designed to be photovoltaic-ready; an array was installed in 2016.