WHATCOM MUSEUM
The Garden of the Ancients, at the Whatcom Museum, is a multi-use courtyard where art and the community meet. The garden features native plants from millions of years ago to the present. The concept for this $12.8 million museum is that of a museum turned inside out—a building as active on the outside as it is on the inside. An iconic 36-foot-tall, 180-foot-long translucent wall, “the lightcatcher,” is the focal point and backdrop to a central courtyard that functions as gathering place for the city. The exterior of the museum allows pedestrians walking by to view the art and activity within. The building is the first LEED® Silver certified museum in the state of Washington. Sustainable features include a green roof above the lobby, a rainwater harvesting system, pervious paving, double-skin curtain wall glazing at the lightcatcher wall, and natural ventilation in the public gathering spaces. Completed by Chris Jones, as Associate at Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture, prior to founding Groundswell.