Cascadia Village

Cascadia Village Childcare & Community Center

Sponsored by Affordable Community Environments (ACE), the Cascadia Village Childcare and Community Center was envisioned as a vibrant hub for families living in ACE’s adjacent 75-unit low-income housing complex. This proposed 10,000 SF, two-story facility would provide comprehensive infant and preschool care, after-school programming for K–12 students, and a broad range of community services.

The center’s design includes spaces for computer labs, exercise, arts and crafts, a multi-purpose room, and a commercial kitchen—ensuring it could serve the full spectrum of neighborhood needs. The architectural vision was rooted in the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which views children as capable, curious learners and emphasizes the environment as a critical part of the educational process.

While principal architect at Avalon, Derrick led a collaborative series of design workshops with a blue-ribbon committee of childcare professionals from both public and private education. This inclusive, vision-driven process helped shape the project around core values of light-filled, flexible, and inspiring spaces for learning and community gathering.

Though ultimately not funded, the project remains a powerful example of design driven by equity, learning science, and neighborhood vitality.

Location: Vancouver, Washington