Trades Technologies Building, Green River Community College (GRCC)

Multipurpose, inside and out. A new facility that houses classrooms and specialized academic labs for automotive, carpentry, manufacturing, and welding was planned for construction. The building site has a high water table and is surrounded by a wide variety of land uses. The challenge was to design the site features to support the new 71,600 SF Trades academic building while not disrupting the neighboring sites or their users.
Reid Middleton designed features to protect environmentally-sensitive wetlands, provide pedestrian connectivity from arterials to a neighboring City park, and prevent site noise, light and visual distractions from disturbing a residential neighborhood. Features included stormwater flow control and media filtration to remove pollution from runoff, an existing stormwater pipe that conveyed runoff from the north across the site and into the wetlands was transformed into a natural feature by grading the areas to look like a natural stream with native plants, and a 19-foot-high wall, topographic design, and location of site features.