Baumgartner Designs

The WSU bear center is a one of a kind research facility that houses several bears for research purposes. The facility helps with learning more about bears and their hibernation and conservation of the species. They monitor dietary habits, along with habitat studies to help the current bear population with the current shrinking of habitat land.

Concept

The concept was a bear paw and natural colors and curves to help the facility to blend into the nature surrounding it

Design Applications

This new facility includes bear dens, runs and yards, a research center with a research room, a food prep kitchen with a walk-in freezer, and lots of storage. It will also have a medical room with treadmills, weighing scales, blood sample crates, operating area, and training area. The new facility has a visitor center with educational opportunities and views of the bears in the facility. There will also be many enrichment opportunities like swimming pools, climbing structures, digging areas, and rotating enrichment areas. The building was designed with mass heating and energy efficiency, safety precautions for researchers and bears, and immersive visitor experience in mind.

Skills Used

Concept Exploration 

Enrichment
Place Making
Revit
Hand Rendering
Animal Psychology Research
Land Survey Information Gathering
Site Walk

Programming