Petaluma, CA

Marin County Office of Education
New Environmental Education and Conference Center – 1996

Walker Creek Ranch is an outdoor educational facility for students and other community organizations, run by the Marin County Office of Education. Its hands-on curriculum touches upon ecology, biology, and the relationship between people and the environment. As such SSA felt it was important to create a structure that was indigenous to its environment. Recalling a rustic farmhouse, the multi-use building proved to be programmatically challenging for its lack of one fixed program.

SSA ultimately saw this fluidity of use as a virtue, and responded with a grand, open interior featuring a full kitchen, massive flagstone fireplace, exposed wood beams, and stained-glass windows produced by local artisans. This well-used educational facility, regularly booked 7 days a week, received a Merit Award from the California Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH).