Boora Architects

This new educational campus is a ground-up replacement of Vernonia’s K-12 facilities after a devastating flood in 2007 severely damaged or destroyed all of the small town’s schools.

The new building will also function as a community hub and civic center for activities and meetings with over 50,000 square feet available for community use. 

Located on higher ground, the school is divided into four pods: lower elementary, upper elementary, middle school and high school. Thirty-two classrooms will be augmented by two gyms, a music/choir room, drama space, a media center and a commons/cafeteria. Parking, natural wetlands and sports fields surround the school.

Since the community has always had a strong connection to the natural environment, a high priority was placed on sustainable design. Directed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the team incorporated daylight; radiant in-floor heating and cooling; bio-mass boilers; photo-voltaics; rainwater collection; local materials and labor; and wetland education features. Building energy use will be monitored as part of a new curriculum focused on natural resources.

Boora held multiple discovery sessions, design charettes and town hall meetings with community members and students to uncover the needs and aspirations of future users. These meetings also kept the community of Vernonia apprised of progress and broadened the sense of ownership of the new school.