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A new elementary school for Camas School District is designed to connect students to nature as well as academics beginning in fall 2018. Todd Construction is nearly ready to break ground on the $30 million Lacamas Lake Elementary School, which will replace the aging Lacamas Heights Elementary School.

鈥淭hey will be mobilizing to the site in the next few weeks,鈥� said Abby Dacey, associate principal at Mahlum Architects, the lead architect on the project.

The school is among projects being paid for with money from a $119 million bond that district voters approved in 2016. It will serve more than 600 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Squeezing a 73,000-square-foot facility onto a 40-acre site with wetlands, creeks and trees has presented the biggest challenge.

鈥淚t’s a very full site, just not full of the school,鈥� Dacey said.

The design seeks to build upon the ecological richness of the area to create a 鈥渟chool in the country,鈥� according to Dacey.

鈥淲e want to create a very fluid relationship between outdoor and indoor space,鈥� said Rene Berndt, project designer at Mahlum Architects. 鈥淚t will be a very powerful connection between nature and this space.鈥�

Designers are using wood paneling and creating nooks for children to sit in and read. The idea is to use wood and clear skylights to create shadows and the feel of a forest.

鈥淲e are trying to replicate the sense of a deer walking through the forest,鈥� Berndt said.

Teachers also had a major impact on the design of the facility. The rooms are designed in pairs with movable partitions separating them. Teachers can choose to instruct their individual classes or move the walls and create a team learning environment.

The partitions will have 鈥渇eatures that will minimize any sound transmission鈥� when closed, Dacey said.

Outside of the building, designers sought to create an environment much different than ones often found at schools. Instead of metal playground equipment, boulders and tree houses will be used to help students feel as though they are in a natural setting. The plan includes a slide built into the landscape.

The designers’ hope is to transform the existing wetland 鈥� currently little more than puddles in a field 鈥� into a place much more woodsy.

鈥淲e are planting an enormous amount of trees,鈥� Berndt said. 鈥淲e are upgrading (the wetlands) to be more like a forest. It will be much richer area. It will feel fundamentally different.鈥�

The site has been a prairie home to early Native American tribes, a farmhouse and now a school. That history prompted school district officials to hire Archaeological Investigations Northwest Inc. to monitor the site in case any artifacts are uncovered during construction.

鈥淭hat is fairly unusual to have a monitor for the site,鈥� Dacey said.

The school will be a significant upgrade to Lacamas Heights Elementary, a pod-like structure that is more than 50 years old.

鈥淚t is a great opportunity,鈥� said Jeff Snell, Camas School District’s superintendent. 鈥淚t aligns with other schools and gives us greater capacity.鈥�

Design Beyond Borders is a 91视频 feature offering a look at the projects outside of Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91视频 architecture and engineering reporter Kent Hohlfeld at 503-802-7224 or [email protected].