A campus in the forest.

We were given a 20 acre parcel of third growth Douglas Fir, on the outskirts of Poulsbo, WA to create the second branch campus for Olympic College. Traversing the property before starting design, it was nearly impossible to walk through the dense underbrush of blackberry, salal and thistle. A twenty foot drop occurred midway through the site and that led to the idea of using the building to bridge the creation of an upper and lower campus.

We were challenged by the City of Poulsbo to respond to the town’s commitment to its Scandinavian roots. The town has strict design guidelines and is a kitchy attempt at re-creating an old Scandinavian Village. Our response was to channel Alvar Aalto instead and fortunately we were able to get a more modern interpretation of Scandinavian design approved.