© Josh Partee
PROJECT DETAILS:
KNOW MORE ABOUT THE DESIGNERS:
In 2020, Michael Green Architecture completed two new mass timber buildings for the internationally recognized College of Forestry at Oregon State University. Located on campus within the Oregon Forest Science Complex (OFSC), the new George W. Peavy Forest Science Center and the A.A. "Red" Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Laboratory (AWP) upholds the College’s vision to create a dynamic learning, collaboration, and research environment for managing and sustaining working forest ecosystems in the 21st Century.
The project design approach was created in collaboration with multiple College departments and user groups across various functions, including resource management, ecosystems and society, and science and engineering. Engagement with these unique and diverse groups meant that the buildings themselves were designed to be teachers and a living laboratory – something to interact with and to learn from.
George W. Peavy Forest Science Center
The new George W. Peavy Forest Science Center (83,000 sq. ft.) is connected to the complex natural layers, systems, and networks of a forest, from soil to sky. The building is designed as two intersecting bars, connected to the existing Richardson Hall. A simple academic bar features 20 classrooms, computer rooms, and laboratories. Classroom and lab spaces range from small to large and interior to exterior, facilitating a range of teaching styles in an inspiring environment for students to study all aspects of the forest landscape. Timber stairwells filled with natural light flank both ends of the academic corridor to connect the landscape and enhance intuitive wayfinding.
At the heart of Peavy is the Roseburg Forest Products Atrium. Shaped by towering two-storey Douglas fir columns, this expansive space captures the feeling of being in the forest. The atrium is directly connected to the Peavy Arboretum, a curated collection of local plant species that acts as a living classroom for forestry students, community, and industry. The edge between the building and the adjacent arboretum is blurred to remind students and faculty of their unique and critical role as environmental stewards.
