Camp Fire Columbia serves Oregon with a mission to help people from historically oppressed communities - with an emphasis on supporting LGBTQIA2S+ youth in particular - build lasting, equitable, and caring relationships with nature, others, and themselves.
Camp Namanu is Camp Fire Columbia’s flagship program and one of the largest and oldest youth camps in the region. Situated on a beautiful 550 acres of forest and meadow along the Sandy River just east of Portland, Oregon, campers have been coming from around the region for almost 100 years.
In 2021, the nonprofit began collaborating with ZGF to explore updates to Camp Namanu’s facilities. They wanted to expand in place to meet the needs of future generations, including improving equity and accessibility for people with disabilities, better amenities for campers across the gender spectrum and those questioning their gender, and for individuals with neuro-sensitivity. Together, ZGF and Camp Namanu landed on a phased approach to a series of upgrades that will provide the foundation for another century of camp.
The first phase was completed in the summer of 2022 and reimagines one of the oldest cabin clusters on site, the Sherwood Unit. On the exterior, an updated landscape surrounds the Sherwood cabins and provides ADA accessible pathways for campers with mobility issues, giving everyone access to the same front door. Providing sightlines and balancing safety with privacy was key, but at the same time, the unit needed to establish a communal experience.
The design of the new cabins balances the dual need for group connection and individual privacy, with careful consideration for the psychological safety of the campers. On one side is a horseshoe shaped bunk area with five bunks and a gathering space in the middle; sitting opposite is an alcove for two staff beds and a shared accessible restroom. The addition of an indoor bathroom offers staff and campers relief in the middle of the night in the building where they sleep rather than forcing young people to walk outside in the dark to the existing communal bathroom.
The idea of designing for separation between staff and campers while maintaining a visual connection of the spaces was important. Each bunk has its own individual operable window, a reading light and outlet, and private storage space that allows each camper to have individual control over their space while still being part of the whole.
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