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“Sustainable design,” said David Orr, “is the careful nesting of human purposes with the larger patterns and flows of the natural world.” It is a way of life in which people and nature flourish.
At North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, signs of sustainability abound – from restoring native plants and eating local, organic foods to constructing buildings with lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Led by architect David Hall of The Henry Klein Partnership in Mount Vernon, Washington, the project partners designed facilities that sit lightly on the land. In fact, the campus occupies previously disturbed terrain that held the former Diablo Lake Resort and, decades earlier, the camp for construction workers who built Ross Dam.
Upon completion, the Learning Center will meet “silver,” standards in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Highlights include passive solar design and increased insulation, which enhance heating systems and lighting, maximize natural ventilation instead of air conditioning and reduce energy consumption. Plus, the entire project is being constructed with more than 90% FSC-certified wood – one of the best building efforts in the U.S.!
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