Vandervort Architects is providing visioning and masterplanning services for a new Retreat and Learning Center that will be built on Camano Island. This deeply green Village will be guided by the Living Building Challenge certification process and a commitment to site appropriate Northwest architecture.
The Village
Situated on a forested 40-acre parcel on Camano Island, Circlewood Village is a learning and retreat center where people will gather for connection, community, and collaboration. Circlewood Village will include buildings dedicated to welcoming, gathering and eating, as well as a large hall for meeting, and classrooms for learning. It will include outdoor gathering spaces and 3 groups of clustered living quarters for overnight and long-term stays.
The buildings will be oriented to focus on the beauty of the forested property and they are created to foster exploration of ecological worldviews, sustainable ways of living, and how to make that transformation happen for the individual, community, and world at large. Circlewood, a faith based nonprofit organization, hopes to advocate for sustainable policy and create a place to spread knowledge about new ways of living.
The initial community meeting and classroom building has been completed and will set the tone for the architecture of the buildings to come.
The Living Building Challenge
In order to create a deeply sustainable village, Circlewood is following guidelines from the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge Certification program. As part of the Living Building Challenge, five key “petals” have been extensively researched and applied to the project. The petals include Place, Water, Energy, Beauty, Equity, Health + Happiness, and Materials.
A few key imperatives associated with the petals include:
- ecology of place
- urban agriculture
- human scaled living
- responsible and net positive water use
- energy and carbon reduction (net positive)
- healthy interior environments
- access to nature
- responsible materials and sourcing
- Red List free materials
- net positive waste
- universal access and inclusion
- biophilic design
The Design Team
On this project Vandervort Architects is collaborating with 2020 Engineering, Katy Scherrer Landscape Design, Light House Sustainability Consultants, and Archineers Mechanical.
