Environmental Design + Construction - November 2008 - (Page 108)

CASE STUDY By Sue Wasserman Eyeing the Future GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY’S NEW VISU-CENTRIC FACILITY PROMOTES COMMUNICATION. with Heery and John Dickinson, a deaf architect — to determine what a deaf space meant. “Deaf people rely on windows versus walls to communicate,” says Gallaudet ASL and Deaf Studies Associate Professor MJ Bienvenu. “Other campus buildings have barriers and columns that are hard to see through. They make communication difficult. We wanted to make communicating in this building easier, as well as create a collaborative environment for departments such as Assistive Technologies and ASL that hadn’t typically worked together before.” A Role Model for Facilities Believing that deafness is organic, Gallaudet strived to bring nature into the design, and create a facility that would earn LEED certification and serve as a role model for future facilities. Students, staff and visitors can’t miss the contemporary glass, brick and zinc-clad THE EXTERIOR MATERIAL PALETTE AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY DRAWS ITS INSPIRATION FROM NATURE: BRICK=EARTH, GLASS=WATER, AND ZINC=SKY. PHOTO BY PRAKASH PATEL. College-bound students across the nation know Gallaudet University is the place to see and be seen. After all, the Washington, D.C.-based institution was founded to serve deaf and hard of hearing students who learn and communicate more visually than their hearing counterparts. Not only does Gallaudet embrace technology that enhances visual learning, it promotes communication through American Sign Language (ASL) to help students and faculty hear and speak with their hands, facial expressions and body language. When university officials decided to construct the new Sorenson Language and Communications Center, they recognized the importance of focusing on the institution’s unique visucentric requirements. “For the first time in its history, Gallaudet convened a group of deaf and hearing individuals to lay the groundwork and develop a vision for the facility,” says Heery International Project Manager Becky Hill. “Not only were we establishing brick and mortar goals, but philosophical ones as well.” Following the visioning session, architect Hansel Bauman of Hansel Bauman Architects + Planners created and led a two-day deaf space workshop. The goal was to once again bring together a diverse group of students, faculty and administrators — along A GENTLY CURVED BALCONY, IN ADDITION TO OVERHANGS THAT GRACE THE CLASSROOM WING, PROVIDES SUBTLE BUT EFFECTIVE SOLAR SHADING. PHOTO BY ALAIN JARAMILLO PHOTOGRAPHY. 108 ed+c N OV E MBE R 08

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Environmental Design + Construction - November 2008

Environmental Design %2B Construction - November 2008 Contents Web TOC Editor's Note Newsline New %2B Notable Green by Nature Award Winner: Juvenile Justice Award Winner: Desert Living FSC Special Section Designing a Greener Building with BIM The Case for Modular Creating a Rustle Lessons Learned The Move Toward Sustainability Lead by Example A%2B Rating Nurture by Nature Commitment to Sustainability Eyeing the Future Work of Art Green has Gone to the Dogs Sensible Upgrade Moisture Issues in Courthouses Green Build - Green Product Buzz Guide Benefi ts of BIM Product Focus Marketplace %2B Classifieds Advertiser's Index Parting Shot

Environmental Design + Construction - November 2008

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