VANCOUVER, WA – Skanska, a leading construction and development firm, and its design partner Mithun, have completed the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth‘s Washington School for the Deaf (CDHY) expansion project. The academic and residential campus now has a new 35,000-square-foot Divine Academic Building, which includes innovative classroom design and media center, as well as a 15,000-square-foot Hunter Physical Education Building. The modernization project also includes a sensory-focused and accessible playground, a connective, secure walkway between the new buildings, and an improved parking area.
“We wanted to be part of the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth project because of the positive impact it would have on the students, families, staff, and entire community,” said Trevor Wyckoff, Senior Vice President and Account Manager at Skanska. “We collaborated with Mithun, the Department of Enterprise Services, and CDHY, to engage students and staff throughout the design and building process, creating a sense of ownership and excitement for the new buildings. We are honored to be part of this team, delivering new buildings that will enrich the lives and learning experiences for everyone.”
The project team included project management by Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES), progressive design-build lead and general contractor/construction by Skanska and architecture, landscape, and interior design by Mithun. Consultants Hansel Bauman and Robert T. Sirvage brought DeafSpace Guidelines to the design and construction process.
“Today’s ribbon cutting highlights the quality educational opportunities provided by the Washington School for the Deaf,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. “We are witnessing how partners in funding, design and construction have modeled this innovative solution for this special needs population. Washington state is proud to support the needs of deaf and hard of hearing youth.”
The unique needs for this campus and learning spaces included wider hallways so students can walk side by side and incorporate both visual orientation and signing, floors that accommodate acoustic vibration which is another way for staff-to-student communication, and extensive use of large windows to bring in natural lighting.
“This expansion means two brand new and much-needed spaces for improved learning and athletics in this unique student environment,” says Shauna Bilyeu, executive director at the CDHY, which is the state agency that oversees the Washington School for the Deaf. “The design and construction work here has ranged from the use of mass timber, acoustically friendly flooring, important visual improvements with abundant natural lighting, wider-set hallways for active ASL (American Sign Language) communication and so much other care and concern for the needs of our unique community.”
The student population is comprised of 120 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, many of whom reside on campus during the school week. “This expansion is particularly suited for our PreK-12 students and brings accessibility for this special population, not only for today but for future generations at this school,” added Bilyeu.
“Our team is honored to be conversation partners with the Washington School for the Deaf community,” says Mithun partner JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox. “Understanding the importance of maintaining Deaf culture, and ensuring students have full access to information, became our collective hearthstone as we worked together to consider every aspect of the Deaf experience and tune the buildings accordingly. Today, ASL-rich learning thrives in spaces designed to facilitate spatial awareness and extend the sensory reach of WSD’s empowered students at every scale.”
“Our whole design-build team is excited to share these progressive and well-thought-out spaces on this important and transformative project,” said Alan Halleck, Skanska project executive. Halleck studied ASL to better understand the DeafSpace guidelines and unique needs of the Deaf community, and to facilitate communication in the planning, design, approval, and construction phases throughout the construction timeline.
Such principles and concepts require that multi-purpose spaces are designed to enhance American Sign Language (ASL)-English bilingual instructional practices through improved technology infrastructure and incorporating DeafSpace design principles, including sensory reach, space and proximity, mobility, light and color, and acoustics. A deaf-centric building approach prioritizes visual access to enable and enhance the educational experience for deaf and hard of hearing students.
“Our current classrooms and gymnasium were outdated and inefficient, as we have not had any new classroom construction on campus since 1971. We now have a beautiful school that is unique to our community. It’s sustainable and something that the larger metro Vancouver area is proud of. It’s because our designer and building partners cared so deeply about getting it right,” notes Bilyeu.
CDHY’s Washington School for the Deaf is the state’s only residential ASL-English bilingual school for deaf and hard of hearing students. The Washington School for the Deaf serves individuals from birth through the age of 21, providing early childhood intervention, literacy, audiology and interpretive services, screening, social-emotional learning as well as ASL instruction, audiology technology, self-advocacy and successful school strategies. A new outdoor field will be completed in Spring 2025. CDHY is located at 3107 E. Evergreen Boulevard in Vancouver, Washington.