Through participation in the design process, the site’s natural areas – wooded ridge & rock outcrops – were identified as central to the student‘s shared identity of the area and to the greater community’s environmental ethic. San Juan plaza reflects the educational goals at Western-fostering students’ individuation- while providing a sense of belonging through experience of a defining landscape of this region: the San Juan Islands and Bellingham Bay. A sea of brick paving flows through an archipelago of islands fabricated of over 300 massive sandstone boulders and earth taken from the excavation of adjacent laboratory buildings. Swirling bands of brick recall the tides and currents. Lori Silverman directed and managed the project with Campbell & Campbell.
Western Washington University San Juan Plaza, Bellingham, WA
