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Project name: Cascade Middle School

Location: Eugene

Completion: December 2024

Size: 85,000 square feet

Cost: $44 million

Owner/Developer: Bethel School District

Architect: Rowell Brokaw Architects

Interior Designer: Rowell Brokaw Architects

Engineers: Catena Consulting Engineers, PAE, Mazzetti

General Contractor: Todd Construction

Submitting Company: Rowell Brokaw Architects

Other Associates/Key Consultants: ABD Engineering & Design, ACC Cost Consultants, Dougherty Landscape Architects, JLR Design Group, QED Lab, Sandow Engineering

Subcontractors: Black Line Glazing, Cascade Casework, Coast to Coast Turf, Cosco Fire Protection, Davidson’s Masonry, Edward Don & Co., England Industrial, L.R. Brabham, McDonald & Wetle, Mid Valley Commercial Construction, Oregon Cascade Plumbing & Heating, Pacific Landscape, S. Greg Payne, Santiam Steel, Smith Sheet Metal, Wildish Construction

The new Cascade Middle School, which replaced the second oldest school in the Bethel School District, opened its doors following a voter-approved 2020 bond measure. The 85,000-square-foot facility now serves 550 students with expanded educational spaces and community resources.

The project, designed by Rowell Brokaw, faced significant logistical challenges due to its location surrounded by occupied facilities, including the existing middle school and Willamette High School sports fields. Construction required detailed phasing plans and constant coordination to maintain safe routes for students.

At the heart of the new building is a 3,500-square-foot, double-height Commons that serves as the central hub connecting all wings of the school. This multipurpose space features warm wood finishes, varied seating options and hosts informal gatherings, dining and special events.

The Commons was designed to give each student a sense of connection. This theme extends throughout the building’s design, which emphasizes inclusivity for the school’s predominantly economically disadvantaged and minority student population. A mural by artist Pattrick Price reinforces the theme of inclusion by interweaving Native American imagery with local flora and fauna on a wall facing the Commons.

Strategic daylighting improves student well-being throughout the facility. Classrooms feature carefully placed windows connecting students visually to outdoor landscaping and distant mountain views. Break-out learning spaces in the two-story classroom wing receive natural light through skylights, second-floor openings and curtain walls.

The project extends beyond traditional educational spaces to serve the broader community. A Family Resource Center within the school provides food, clothing and school supplies to district families, opening twice monthly for grocery and essential item distribution.

For community use after school hours, the building includes a separate entry to two gymnasiums while security doors protect the rest of the facility. The Commons remains available for community meetings and gatherings.

Two additional components benefit the community: the renovation of the former music building into a community health clinic and the construction of a multi-purpose sports field for the adjacent high school.

Sustainability measures include strategically placed windows, enhanced envelope performance and on-site stormwater collection. As part of the building envelope commissioning, technicians from QED Lab performed a blower door test and found that the whole-building air leakage was roughly 75 percent less than code required.

The project also preserved many beloved trees on site, with a large green space for student and public use developed where the original school stood.