Oregon Military Department Camp Withycombe

When the century-old Camp Withycombe underwent an expansion, the Oregon Military Department (OMD) had obvious needs in modernizing its campus for the 1,300 service people stationed there. However, it also saw the opportunity to utilize emerging technologies to create a more sustainable and cost-efficient facility. OMD came to Tetra Tech’s High Performance Buildings Group with some specific goals to achieve a higher level of sustainability and to create a positive image of the facility in the surrounding community, namely: decreasing its water consumption by 30 to 40 percent and lowering its yearly energy costs by 25 percent.

Newly constructed facilities included offices, classrooms, community spaces, an auditorium, storage areas, a band practice space, a kitchen, and a physical fitness area designed to aid in the recruiting and training of National Guard and Reserve members.

These new additions to the existing campus made use of several sustainable building design concepts, including water reduction, skylight daylighting, and LED lighting. Tetra Tech’s energy team was able to exceed OMD’s initial goal by achieving a 40 percent energy cost reduction below code for the facility. Energy usage was optimized by providing each department its own thermal comfort and ventilation system to allow them the flexibility to use the system to meet their individual needs, negating potential excesses. A high-efficiency cooling and heating plant was designed to decrease natural gas usage and energy waste. Low-flow plumbing fixtures saved nearly 370,000 gallons of water per year, while a more efficient landscape irrigation system cut back yearly water usage by approximately 2,667,000 gallons. The project achieved LEED Gold certification and won the 2012 DBIA Civic – National Design Build award.