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Construction of a new learning center and gymnasium is nearing completion at the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY) campus in Vancouver, Washington.

The $52.8 million project is the second phase of a campus revitalization effort. In the first phase, crews removed a classroom building and three older maintenance buildings. In the current phase, workers are constructing the 35,000-square-foot, L-shaped Divine Academic Building 鈥� including administrative space, innovative classrooms and a media center 鈥� as well as the 15,000-square-foot Hunter Physical Education Building. Also, the work includes the addition of a covered walkway connecting the academic and gymnasium wings, an outdoor exercise yard, and a parking area.

Construction company Skanska USA Building and Seattle-based multidisciplinary firm Mithun were selected by the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES) to provide progressive design-build services. The design team also includes DeafSpace consultants Robert T. Sirvage and Hansel Bauman, who worked with the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY) and DES staff and students to incorporate DeafSpace principles. This approach maximizes accessibility of educational spaces and addresses unique student needs.

Other team members include civil engineer Harper Houf Peterson Righellis (HHPR) of Vancouver and structural engineer PCS Structural Solutions. Landscape design was performed by Mithun.

Crews have completed work on the gym and are scheduled to finish the academic building in August; a building dedication event is set for Sept. 12. Improvements will allow the Washington School for the Deaf, which serves students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, to accommodate 150 students (an increase of 30 students) beginning this fall.

鈥淚 believe this project will break down barriers by bringing teaching and learning spaces for deaf and hard of hearing students and staff up to a standard that has never been achieved on this campus before,鈥� CDHY Executive Director Shauna Bilyeu stated in an email. 鈥淥ur community has long been marginalized and not afforded the same opportunities as their hearing counterparts.聽These new buildings will provide opportunities for our staff and students to access technology, curriculum, and sports in the same way hearing students do 鈥� it will level the playing field and provide equity in a way that we have never had before.鈥�

The goal for the project鈥檚 design, Bilyeu stated, was to ensure space would be as deaf-centric as possible and meet the needs of the primary users. DeafSpace principles called for wider hallways (minimum of 8 feet) and staircases, shorter risers on stairs, glazed corners and sidelights, and natural lighting via skylights and lots of windows. The high-performance, low-glare windows reduce visibility into the building but allow people to see outward more easily, according to Bilyeu.

Also, in three community rooms, the design team incorporated a wood-floor system that carries vibration to raise occupants鈥� attention. As students approach, they can feel the vibration or they can stomp their feet, Skanska USA Building project executive Alan Halleck said. Large, open spaces will make signing easier for students and staff. And installation of light switches in the middle of teaching walls will allow teachers to gain students鈥� attention without walking across the room.

鈥淲e have implemented what鈥檚 called a glass corner,鈥� Halleck said. 鈥淚nstead of having a drywall corner and having a blind corner, we had a relight so there鈥檚 a visual connection on what鈥檚 coming around that corner, so (students and staff) don鈥檛 bump into each other.鈥�

Halleck described the relight as “basically a window inside the building often allowing natural light from exterior windows to penetrate deeper into the building or hallway.”

The concrete and steel gym has an adjacent weight training facility.

The academic building features glue-laminated wood for columns and beams as well as cross-laminated timber for the roof structure and floors to make the most out of acoustical vibrations. In classrooms, acoustic panels are on the walls so that ceilings aren鈥檛 covered.

The building鈥檚 exterior cladding is a combination of brick veneer, custom-folded metal panels in a burnt red color, and glazing with a low-glare coating.

鈥淭he folded pattern is not a consistent rhythm,鈥� Halleck said of the metal panels. 鈥淚t angles and varies so as the sun moves across it, it makes different shade and shadow patterns.鈥�

The pattern is intended to represent the bark on an old fir tree, he added.

The academic wing will include a student store able to open during athletic events, a library, two art rooms, and a life skills lab with a small kitchen and laundry facility to help students prepare for living on their own.

Also, a new campus playground will have all-weather turf and inclusive equipment.

The third and final phase of modernization will involve demolition and abatement of the existing academic building and gym. In the fall, an athletic field will be constructed. All work is scheduled to wrap up next spring.