A college and community coming together to unlock doors to better lives, greater security, and higher living standards, a place where students flourish and prosper.

Intended to provide training in electronic and industrial arts for students returning to higher education in search of a second vocation, the Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) Workforce Training Center contains classrooms, computer and electronics labs, and private offices for faculty. The collaborative environment is organized around a central hall which is naturally illuminated by large skylights, and furnished with soft lounge seating for informal gatherings. At the end of the hall is a fireplace and oversized hearth. A separate building houses a welding, mechanics, and automotive shop.

When the Oregon Military Department (OMD) chose to locate their new readiness center on the Columbia Gorge Community College campus, space for the College’s new workforce program was created. Divided in half by a level change of over 30-feet, the existing site naturally formed into separate plateaus that were used to organize the programmatic elements of the military and the college functions. The design solution successfully merged two organizations into a single building form, and allowed for economies of space and construction dollars.

The main structure housing OMD was located at the site’s high point, while CGCC was nestled at the hill’s base. The lower parking areas are accessible for both college functions and OMD events. The parking area was designed as a bore field that services ground source heat pumps, facilitating higher energy savings. Additionally, the slope of the roof to the south was ideal for utilizing photovoltaics as an energy generator, and given the College’s focus on green technologies, the units can be used as a learning lab.