Passive Projects
A building-design framework that promises minimal energy use
By Timothy Lock
Photos: Michael Bailey
Shelter is the physical manifestation of a person’s unique ecological condition—a direct interface with nature, and perhaps nowhere is this gradient more abrupt than at camp. The buildings become indelible reminders of this interplay to the campers who use them, and can become the primary nostalgic touchpoint years later. Whether it is the place one etched a name, or the banner hung in the dining hall, or a specific bench around a fire ring—these spaces hold a primary role in how “camp” is remembered. Many of these memories center around beautiful, old, rustic buildings. While many historic camps have equally historic structures, how does the next generation of camp buildings carry on this tradition, and, more importantly, how do we seize the opportunity to enhance that ecology?
OPAL, an architectural practice, has worked with several youth camps around New England and in the Midwest. The practice is founded around a vision and mission that not only can buildings improve their human ecological condition, but they must in order to combat the effects of climate change on humans, and, hopefully, help reverse it. Perhaps nowhere is that effort more visibly apparent and beneficial than at camp, these follies of human intervention in the natural world that provide a formative experience to so many young people. As such, when tasked with a camp project, we take this opportunity seriously. We look to design buildings that may have an equally transformative experience. As camps expand their programmatic offerings to unburden constraints around the seasonal calendar and expand revenue, considering the experiences not just around summer but around a changing climatic calendar becomes paramount. It is at this turn that architecture can play a leading role.
Connecting To Nature
As early adopters of the German “Passive House” building-design framework, we have always paid close attention to how designs respond to local climate. Unlike LEED, the Passive House design prioritizes only one thing—the use of as little energy as possible to have a simple, comfortable building that is easy to operate, mitigates the relationship between our bodies and the elements, and allows the building systems to shrink to the background, foregrounding the experiential connection with the outside. It’s not easy (a Passive House requires using only 10 to 20 percent of the normal amount of energy of a comparable, conventional building), but the benefits to the occupant and owner are enormous. First, and sometimes foremost, the reality of spending 90 percent less on fuel or electricity for a building can be a total game-changer for small institutions like camps, particularly if the buildings in question are the largest energy users on the property, such as dining halls, event buildings, and staff housing. Perhaps of even greater benefit, however, is the improved comfort. Imagine a large building without the constant rush of forced air from air conditioners, otherwise useful space turned over to huge mechanical rooms, or cold spots right at the windows where you want to sit and enjoy the view. What you just imagined was a Passive House building. We find this approach to be a perfect fit for reducing the distractions and providing greater connection to nature, while also reducing building emissions and operating costs. Most Passive House buildings achieve these goals through the use of additional insulation, close attention to air-sealing to eliminate drafts, and climate-appropriate windows (often triple-pane), though the exact approach is always catered to the local climate.
Carrying On Tradition
At Sheldon Calvary Camp, this approach has made perfect sense. Situated on the shores of Lake Erie, the camp had a beloved, but aging, historic dining hall that the camp had outgrown. SCC offers youth and adult programs that strengthen community, faith, and connection to the outdoors. The much-loved dining hall dates from before the camp’s founding; the hall is a lightly built structure that could be preserved and repurposed as a seasonal gathering place. With its whitewashed board-and-batten siding and low-pitched gable roof, the new design reflects the charming summer-camp vernacular of its predecessor, and of the surrounding campus. White cedar-log siding at the building’s recessed porch areas is a nod to the camp’s iconic chapel.
A contemporary interpretation of a classic, summer-camp building type, this 9,000-square-foot structure houses an airy, sun-filled dining space for 275 campers, a separate conference room, a commercial kitchen, and a full complement of office and support spaces. Designed following Passive House principles of energy efficiency and indoor air quality, the multipurpose building will carry on Calvary Camp’s long-standing traditions of communal dining and food preparation, while allowing it to schedule programs year-round with minimal impact on operating expenses. The focus on simplicity, comfort, and serenity allows the building to act as a pavilion for engaging the surroundings. From the dining area, campers enjoy views of Lake Erie to the north and the camp’s vegetable garden to the south. Conferences, retreats, and small weddings can be held during both the busy summer months and the off-season, when the camp has formerly gone unused. Long walls of screened sliding doors admit cooling lake breezes, giving the new building the same open feeling as its predecessor during the summer sessions, but a super-insulated enclosure allows for comfortable temperatures year-round. A 10-foot-deep overhang shades the south-facing wall, blocking direct sunlight during the warmer months, but welcoming the lower-angle winter sun. The vaulted roof, a reference to the open framing of the original building, is topped by a trio of shed dormers that brighten the space overhead while also encouraging passive ventilation.
Preserving Native Wilderness
At Chewonki, a historic camp on Casco Bay in Southern Maine, we expanded the role that a built environment can play in enhancing our relationship with nature. The camp focuses on outdoor education toward a more holistic understanding of building ecology, allowing multiple interventions to become didactic tools. The work began with a holistic conceptual plan, which sought to radically minimize the site impact, threading neatly around several demarcated vernal pools between an east and west perimeter of rocky coastline.
In a series of structures, starting with a Passive House standard staff-housing building, and proceeding to a series of seasonal camp and cabin structures, the goal was to minimize impact, including stormwater runoff, and thus preserving the unique native wilderness of the camp. Part of this expansion was the adaptive reuse of previously developed sites to comply with land-use requirements, while still allowing the camp to expand for gender equity. The project sought to be holistic, combining aggressive, energy-use reduction strategies with an understanding of local resources, water conservation and management, local ecosystem maintenance, and community health and equity into a transformative whole.
We are confident that through synergizing our camp buildings, with ecological principles, we are molding a new set of camp memories for the next generation.
Timothy Lock, AIA, is a management partner for OPAL in Belfast, Maine. For more information, visit opalarch.us.