Young Life Washington Family Ranch rises from a starkly beautiful high desert landscape in Central Oregon. Resembling an authentic old mining town built around a central town square, our master plan for its Creekside camp accommodates 350 middle school kids at a time. The larger Canyon camp, radiating out from a large outdoor amphitheater, reflects an Old West Ranch theme. The showpiece Ranch House has a high-end, resort aesthetic while keeping a warm and homey feel. Natural wood and timber were the basis of our design aesthetic for Creekside Camp; we conducted extensive research to design each building, from smaller-scale camper cabins to the 500-person dining hall, as traditionally as possible. The clear span heavy timber truss roof over the dining hall combines steel and lumber, staying true to the old mine design. Creekside comprises five cabin-style dormitories, an activity center, four buildings for staff housing, a dining hall, a commercial kitchen, an auditorium, and a dynamic water park ring in the central square. Canyon Camp echoes archetypal buildings of an early 1900s ranch: a barn, a ranch house, and a doctor’s office. At its heart sits around an outdoor amphitheater, where campers and staff gather for storytelling and other group activities. Because Canyon Camp is so vast—nearly five times the size of Creekside—we wanted to create a central space to create a warm camp feel and bring campers together. The Ranch House, which features the camp store, the healthcare center, and offices for the staff, uses stone quarried from the property to complete the Western homesteader theme. Both camps, Creekside and Canyon, anchor their design around traditional construction with sustainable features. For example, a central utility plant efficiently shares energy resources: To cool the buildings, excess heat is pulled out of the facilities and pumped through a campus loop, which then heats large outdoor pools and domestic hot water. Despite the high desert climate and remote location, we created two resilient camps that are comfortable and energy efficient all year-round.

The two camps of Young Life Washington Family Ranch, Creekside and Canyon, both reflect design aesthetics based on the Old West. All the buildings use exposed heavy lumber, which provides a rustic exterior and conceals modern building systems. The smaller Creekside camp resembles an authentic old mining town built around a central town square and accommodates 350 middle school kids at a time. Traditional wood designs support the aesthetic for Creekside Camp, from smaller-scale camper cabins to the 500-person dining hall. The larger Canyon camp echoes archetypal buildings of an early 1900s ranch: a barn, a ranch house, and a doctor’s office. The showpiece Ranch House, which features the camp store, the healthcare center, and offices for the staff, uses clean, crisp exposed steel to maintain a high-end resort aesthetic with a warm and homey feel. A camper’s day starts in their cabin and moves to the grand “Muddy Station” dining hall built with rustic heavy timber and steel trusses, corrugated galvanized walls, and wood wainscoting. At the activity center, campers play basketball, volleyball and soccer, challenge friends to miniature golf, scale the climbing wall, or strap on a harness for the adventure ropes course. In the afternoon, campers hit the towering water park where five slides drop them from the head of an active “mine” shaft. The archetypal soda shop serves up cold drinks and ice cream alongside the classic general store. The “Bonanza” meeting hall hosts songs and skits on a full stage complete with theatrical lighting, a booming sound system, and video projection. Additional amenities include an infirmary, meeting spaces, outdoor amphitheater, spray park, sand volleyball, disk golf, and camp offices. By using industrial materials and adding unique touches, such as pipes for railings and heavy steel fasteners, we crafted a more refined mining camp while designing with durability in mind. Each building employs color, materials, and detailing to stand out but also connect to the overall theme. One particularly nice touch: pickaxes for door handles. Because kids need plenty of fuel for their summer stay, we designed a high-quality commercial kitchen to keep them nourished and ready for activity. The lights in the kitchen dim according to ambient light pouring in from the skylights, which adds to energy efficiency.