CAMP NAISH FOR THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Camp Naish is a powerful example of enlightening clients to the benefits of sustainable design. Established by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in 1926, this 1100-acre camp in Bonner Springs, Kansas has undergone a transformation through the collaborative efforts of the BSA and BNIM’s design and landscape team. BNIM worked closely with Boy Scout representatives to design a collection of new camp facilities and their surrounding landscapes that respond to the camp’s current and future needs. By incorporating a high level of sustainable design integration, the camp and its new buildings also embody the Boy Scouts’ principles of living in balance with nature. The three largest of the new camp facilities— the Dining Hall, Pool House and Entry Building—will serve the scouts through the hot summers, integrating natural cooling, ventilation and lighting. Portions of the buildings employ radiant heating for wintertime use as well. The three buildings were designed and constructed with unique structural systems according to scale, program and economy allowing each to have its own identity. Exterior materials tie the three together to give the camp an integrated feel. To preserve as much of the natural landscape as possible, the team constructed the buildings on the developed sites of former camp facilities.
When Camp Naish was commissioned for the Boy Scouts of America, the project called for no sustainable components, but when the client learned that green design and BSA’s own set of ethics were so aligned—namely the “leave no trace” doctrine—it became clear that the facility should manifest a highly sustainable vision. The design uses LEED as a guideline to inform the project and the team went to extraordinary lengths to achieve the vision for this project by soliciting donated materials, locating salvaged steel for use in the Pool House structure and researching and incorporating sustainable strategies that would provide a return on the client’s investment. 208