The Evergreen State College Campus Master Plan

Architecture Firm:
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP
Completion Date:
January 2008
Project Format (not yet built / built):
Not Yet Built
Project Size (sf / site acreage):
1,008 Acres
Project Location:
Olympia, Washington
Budget ($/sq Ft, optional):
Not Applicable
The Evergreen State College campus is located west of the City of Olympia. The campus is located on 1,008 acres of land, which remains predominately forested with a mixture of largely native second growth vegetation. The Evergreen State College is a public interdisciplinary liberal arts college with the strategic objective of achieving ‘net-zero’ carbon and waste by the year 2020. Engendering a sense of ownership by the students, faculty, staff and surrounding community is seen as a powerful way to ensure that the unique environmental asses of the campus are preserved, managed, maintained and treasured for future generations. From the beginning, a concerted effort was made to engage the campus community in a dialog concerning the future of the College and how to make the campus an even better place to live, work, teach, visit and learn. Engendering a sense of ownership by the students, faculty, staff and surrounding community is seen as a powerful way to ensure that unique environmental assets of the campus are preserved, managed, maintained and treasured for future generations. Living machines provide learning opportunities and eliminate wastewater.
Interior Designer:
Not Applicable
General Contractor:
Not Applicable
Landscape Designer:
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP
Lighting Consultant:
Not Applicable
Structural Engineer:
Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Mechanical Engineer:
Stantec
Electrical Engineer:
Sparling
Commissioning Agent:
Not Applicable
Air Quality Consultant:
Not Applicable
Civil Engineer:
SvR Design
Other:
Not Applicable
Owner:
The Evergreen State College
Sustainable Sites:
The Evergreen State College is a public interdisciplinary liberal arts college with the strategic objective of achieving ‘net-zero’ carbon and waste by the year 2020. The campus has always sought unique ways to approach issues of community, education & sustainability. The College engaged in a comprehensive master planning process focused on identifying ways to support, enhance and identify opportunities to satisfy future capital and land use needs while incorporating progressive sustainable systems, technologies, and techniques in order to reduce the College’s ecological footprint. Campus Design Guidelines promote sustainable goals and objectives: - Preserve, restore and enhance campus landscapes as a carbon off-set - Promote sustainable landscapes with low maintenance native plants and xeriscaping techniques to reduce energy and water usage - Improve wildlife habitat in the core and reserve areas of the campus - Minimize development impact to surrounding landscape when establishing new trails or improving existing ones and in development of buildings, renovations and additions - Establish physical links between campus ecological biomes and surrounding ecologies
Toward Zero Energy:
An analysis of the campus’ carbon footprint revealed significant challenges and the need for dramatic change if carbon neutrality was to be achieved. Campus systems studied include: transportation modes and patterns; energy production and use; campus biome protection, use and enrichment; food production; construction practices; waste stream management; and student life and housing Through consideration of these campus systems, unique issues related to the semi-rural campus were evaluated and options tested. For example, the extensive acreage of second growth forest that make up the majority of the campus were evaluated for their carbon sequestering value as a way to off-set the vehicle trips to campus. Additionally, everything from expanding on-campus organic agriculture as a way to feed the campus, producing biofuels to drive shuttle buses from the food service waste, geothermal heat sources for the campus central plant to connections to community trails systems and wildlife corridors were evaluated. The plan also explores a number of opportunities to reduce vehicle use and carbon emissions.
Local and Sustainable Materials:
The master plan was developed as a tool to understand the impact of the projected growth in enrollment and the interrelationship of the various planning objectives established by Evergreen. This master plan proposes a pattern of development that is based on both the established building pattern that reinforces the core of the campus and a new direction that aims to integrate the entire campus into the community while meeting sustainable and educational goals of the College. At the campus core, proposed renovations and additions are focused on developing and enhancing a sense of place that is scaled, provides good solar access and forms a connectedness among adjacent buildings. The master plan supports the use of green building practices on future renovations and new construction. This involves the use of materials native to the Pacific Northwest, developing alternative power sources, increasing and encouraging the use of self-sustaining resources such as recycling, composting, and stormwater harvesting, and preserving, restoring and enhancing campus landscapes as a carbon off-set.
Sustainable Water:
The master plan recommends water and wastewater management be controlled by installing low flow fixtures in campus buildings and housing, and controlling and maintaining the wastewater system to prevent inflow and infiltration into the wastewater system. Using native plantings that require less irrigation or considering rainwater catchment systems to water vegetation and plants throughout the campus are also recommended. In addition, incorporating pervious surface materials and strategies when maintaining, renovating or expanding existing parking facilities will also reduce runoff and help the campus meet evolving stormwater standards.
IEQ and Comfort:
On average, lighting loads make-up 25 to 30 percent of a building’s energy consumption. More energy efficient lighting fixtures are part of the overall strategy to reduce energy use. In addition, lighting controls such as motion sensors and zoned switching can double the potential energy savings. Currently much of the existing lighting system on campus is controlled by local switch controls. The plan encourages providing automatic on/off controls such as occupancy sensors to ensure lights are not left on when a room or space is vacant. Where possible, the plan encourages use of natural daylighting to achieve the greatest energy savings, which could be as high as 50 percent. The ambitious sustainability initiatives set forth in the Master Plan considers a wide range of opportunities in making significant contributions toward improve and enhancing the air quality on campus. These initiatives include increased use of low impact alternative transportation (walking, biking, transit, carpool), developing alternative power sources (geothermal, solar, wind), and increasing use of self-sustaining resources such as recycling, composting, stormwater harvesting and ground water.
Collective Wisdom and Feedback:
Based on ZGF’s philosophy of building community, the process utilized for the campus planning process was intensive, inclusive and collaborative. Initial steps included gathering existing data and reviewing past master plans. These steps were followed by a series of on-campus meetings that included open information sessions, pizza dinner discussions, one-on-one meetings, facility and campus tours, community presentations and focused charrettes. A preliminary draft format of the master plan was issued to provide an opportunity for comment from campus constituents. A series of on-campus meetings were held to allow direct input from the community, faculty, students and staff. This revised version of the master plan incorporated comments resulting from these meetings as well as comments submitted via the campus website. All of the investigations undertaken during the planning process used sustainability as a touchstone and integrated opportunities for hands-on student learning, participation, engagement and community involvement.
Social Equity:
The master plan encourages the College to integrate educational activities with cultural, social, civic and business activities of the surrounding community. Circulation improvements suggested in the master plan invite the public in by building on existing patterns – both vehicular and pedestrian – and developing a comprehensive network of connections among the various education centers, upper and lower campus, and the community. One of the early goals of the plan integrates College educational activities with cultural, social, civic and business activities of the surrounding community. The master plan encourages the College to invite the community and neighborhood to use the campus as a learning environment (extended education, cultural events, interpretive trails, Organic Farm tours, conferences and sport campus, sustainability tours teaching gardens, beach walks, natural walks, bicycle loops) and provide volunteer opportunities to the community.
Regional/Community Design:
The master plan indicates that research and evaluation are needed to compile data on regional biodiversity and regional planning goals to identify the College’s potential conservation goals. The plan supports partnerships and collaboration with regional planning efforts, land trusts and existing corridors to develop ways to connect these potential corridor areas to the campus ecologies. Connections to the campus loop trail system would open a valuable community corridor that would facilitate alternate modes of transportation. The master plan supports the use of the campus as a global venue for leadership in innovative programs such as sustainability innovations, Native American culture, and environmental conservation and demonstration. The large contiguous land that makes up the reserve areas of the campus represents a forest and meadow system that is being replaced by encroaching suburban development. The master plan envisions that through strategic partnerships, there may be opportunities to address regional trail, wildlife, and environmental initiatives that leverage campus assets and connect the College to a larger set of regional goals.