Havilah Retreat Center

Location: Toutle, Washington
Services Provided: Programming, Design, Construction Documents & Construction Administration
 

The Owners of Havilah Retreat Center had recently purchased a visitors center from Cowlitz County and asked our firm to design a new dormitory, meeting space, gymnasium and pool building for their new retreat center at the base of Mt. Saint Helens. The setting is serene with a beautiful view of the nearby mountain. The Northwest Rustic visitor’s center was a perfect start for the retreat center with a large lodge type space and dinning facilities. With the addition of the dormitory lodging building and pool building the retreat center would be ready to serve the users.

The lodging building is 20,500 square feet on two stories and includes lodging for 171 guests, multiple restrooms, showers and locker rooms, two director suites, and a large chapel/meeting space for 272 people. The generous timber framed entry and lobby provide shelter from the weather and add an inviting entrance to the space. The half-court gymnasium was removed from the program in order to include a larger meeting hall.

The pool building which is 1,864 square feet was designed with large glue laminated timber trusses in keeping with the rustic aesthetic of the existing lodge. Since the specialized pool design was a lengthy process the Owner decided to build the pool building as an activity space with the idea of completing the swimming pool at a later time. The space includes a sauna, restroom, shower rooms and a large space for activities such as ping pong and pool. All of the equipment rooms have been constructed for the future pool improvements.

In addition to the main lodging building the Owner’s placed rustic pre-fabricated cabins along the perimeter of the parking area to provide more options for adult visitors.